On July 13 China’s embassy in Japan lodged a formal protest with Japan’s foreign ministry after Japan’s foreign minister and a group of countries issued statements marking the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration ruling. Beijing said the ruling violates basic norms of international law, is illegal, non‑binding and void, and rejected any claims or actions based on it. China said its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea are unaffected, accused Japan of

Iran’s top joint military command said it will not permit US interference in management of the Strait of Hormuz and that any US transit of the strait without Iranian authorization would be met with strong resistance. It warned regional governments that cooperation with the US would be treated as an act of war against Iran and said any escalation would affect all countries in the region, for which it held the US and its allies responsible. Iran said it will respond firmly to any US military actions outside Iran-designated shipping routes that interfere with or make passage unsafe for commercial vessels and oil tankers. It blamed frequent US incursions for endangering regional security, international trade and tanker navigation, and said cooperation by some regional states raises the risk of a wider conflict.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry says an alarm has been sounded, the third today.