Big Tension In South China Sea: After China’s Naval Drills, US Warship USS Abraham Lincoln Conducts Live-Fire Operations – What Is Happening?

The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has conducted live-fire weapons system tests and drills in the South China Sea as part of what the U.S. describes as “routine operations” in the Indo-Pacific. The move has highlighted ongoing military tensions in the region.

The Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier, has been operating in international waters of the South China Sea since late December, after it departed from San Diego in late November 2025. The exercises form part of the US 7th Fleet’s area of operations, where American forces operate to “deter aggression, strengthen alliances and partnerships, and promote regional stability.”

Live fire exercises conducted by USS Abraham Lincoln

According to reports, in training activities highlighted on January 8, 2026, the carrier conducted a live-fire exercise involving its Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), a radar-guided defensive turret designed to counter incoming missiles, aircraft, and small surface threats — firing from the ship’s flight deck while underway.

“The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is conducting routine operations in the US 7th Fleet area,” the US Navy said in onboard captions accompanying images released of the drills. Units assigned to the fleet regularly patrol the Indo-Pacific to strengthen alliances and promote regional stability.

In addition to the live-fire drill, the Abraham Lincoln and its strike group have carried out a variety of training activities, including flight operations, replenishment-at-sea exercises, damage control drills, and explosive ordnance disposal training, as per reports. The carrier strike group is also supported by escort vessels such as the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance.

China has also conducted live-fire drills in the region

China recently staged its own live-fire drills around Taiwan, exercises which Beijing’s Eastern Theater Command said it had “successfully completed” in late December 2025. The Chinese drills were part of military activities aimed at demonstrating combat readiness and deterrence amid disputes over Taiwan and influence across the South China and East China seas.

According to reports, the USS Abraham Lincoln’s presence and drills is aimed at the US commitment to maintaining freedom of navigation and a persistent naval presence in strategic waterways, which have been the subject of overlapping sovereignty claims and frequent military flashpoints between global powers.

Overall, while US officials label the carrier’s testing and live-fire drills as routine operations, they occur against the backdrop of increasing military demonstrations by China and rising regional security concerns, reinforcing the strategic importance of the South China Sea in 21st-century naval geopolitics.

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