Axios reported two U.S. officials say the Strait of Hormuz southern transit lane remains open. One official said most vessels transit with AIS turned off, making them untrackable on open-source platforms, and confirmed Iran has used VHF radio to harass ships. A second official said roughly 50 vessels used the southern lane in recent days and it remains navigable.

On the 4th Turkish President Erdogan met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the presidential palace and held a joint press conference. Erdogan said Turkey is closely monitoring developments in the Middle East. The leaders discussed expanding trade and investment ties, with Erdogan saying Turkey seeks deeper cooperation with Pakistan in energy, transport, critical minerals and information technology.

On July 4 the China Coast Guard conducted law-enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan, using the term 'routine' in its report for the first time compared with last month. Marine expert Yang Xiao said 'routine' denotes continuous enforcement operations intended to assert sovereignty. The coast guard has implemented regular patrols of the Diaoyu Islands and affiliated islets and routine enforcement around Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal). The agency said it logged 357 days of patrols around the Diaoyu Islands in 2025, which China says demonstrates its undisputed sovereignty over the islands and their territorial waters.