The Nimitz-class carrier USS George Washington arrived in Da Nang for a scheduled port visit, carrying more than 5,000 sailors after transiting from the Philippine Sea. The visit followed a July 20 clash between the China Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy and subsequent water-cannon encounters near Scarborough Shoal. U.S. officials condemned the actions and urged China to "immediately cease its destabilizing conduct," while Sen. Marco Rubio affirmed that the U.S. would not abandon its allies. The carrier arrived as flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, accompanied by USS Robert Smalls, USS Shoup and Carrier Air Wing 5.
USS George Washington Docks In Da Nang Amid Rising China–Philippines Tensions
The carrier USS George Washington arrives in Da Nang, Vietnam, July 30, 2026. (MCS3 Estrella Velarde/U.S. Navy)
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington arrived in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Thursday for a scheduled port visit, the U.S. Navy announced. The carrier sailed from the Philippine Sea into the South China Sea last week with more than 5,000 sailors on board.
Tensions in the South China Sea
The arrival came days after a July 20 confrontation in which personnel from the China Coast Guard reportedly struck a Philippine Navy sailor with a wooden baton. Four days later, vessels attributed to the China Coast Guard allegedly used water cannons against ships from the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources near Scarborough Shoal.
U.S. Response
U.S. State Department officials criticized what they described as escalatory actions and reiterated Washington’s support for its Pacific allies. A State Department spokesperson urged Beijing to "immediately cease its destabilizing conduct."
“While our ship represents the high-end capabilities of the U.S. Navy, our visit here to Vietnam supports a U.S.-Vietnam relationship that continues to grow stronger across an increasingly broad range of subjects, reflecting our shared interest in a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Capt. Nicholas DeLeo, commanding officer of the George Washington, said in a release.
Senator Marco Rubio told reporters on July 23, during the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meetings in the Philippines, that the United States was "not going to abandon [its] allies," remarks widely interpreted as referencing the July 20 incident.
Ships In Company
The George Washington visited as the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, accompanied by the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup, and the embarked Carrier Air Wing 5.
This port call underscores growing security cooperation between the United States and Vietnam and highlights U.S. intent to maintain a visible naval presence in the Indo-Pacific amid rising regional tensions.
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