Daily Strike — Morning Edition

The thirteen hours between Monday noon EDT and Tuesday midnight covered three active theaters: a U.S. Navy readiness incident in the South China Sea, a hardening standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, and converging signals about Taiwan’s political and military posture. Here is what moved.

Top Stories

1. USS Benfold Lost Power for Four Days in the South China Sea

A Navy guided-missile destroyer went without electricity for four days in the South China Sea last month, the U.S. Navy has confirmed, leaving sailors without toilets, air conditioning, galley service, or potable water, according to The Hill. The USS Benfold — a 7th Fleet destroyer with a history of freedom-of-navigation patrols near disputed Chinese-claimed islands — suffered the engineering casualty in waters where Beijing and Washington have repeatedly tested each other’s resolve. The Navy has not disclosed the cause of the outage or confirmed when power was restored. Full coverage: USS Benfold Power Failure.

2. Trump Rules Out Iran Talks as Hormuz Negotiations Continue

President Trump said Monday there are no talks planned with Iran, Al Jazeera reported, even as states bordering the Strait of Hormuz continue discussions about managing the strategic waterway. Trump expressed frustration over what the outlet described as the Iran-Oman Hormuz deal. The U.S.-Iran ceasefire has expired; oil has traded above $91 a barrel as the diplomatic situation remains unresolved. Related: Ceasefire Expires, Oil Tops $91.

3. Taiwan Residents Preparing to Fight Back

As invasion anxiety rises in Taiwan, some residents are actively preparing to resist Chinese military action, the New York Times reported Monday. The American Enterprise Institute’s China & Taiwan Update for August 18 tracks military and political developments in the strait in parallel. Background: Taiwan’s Record Defense Budget.

Markets

Norway’s Equinor signed an agreement with Chevron to enter oil exploration in Namibia, Reuters reported Monday. The move signals continued interest in deep-offshore African energy as Middle Eastern supply routes remain under pressure from the Hormuz standoff.

Secondary Fronts

Russia-Ukraine: Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s ousted defense minister, called publicly for wartime elections in a direct challenge to President Zelensky, the Jerusalem Post reported. A recent poll cited by the Post indicated Fedorov would beat Zelensky in a runoff. The challenge arrives as Ukraine’s military position is under sustained Russian pressure — covered in Monday’s reporting on Russian missile attacks.

Separately, RFK Jr.’s son has been added to Russia’s federal wanted list after joining Ukrainian forces, the New York Post reported. Russia has placed him on its wanted list, the outlet said.

China: Foreign Policy reports that China’s senior leadership has gathered at Beidaihe for their annual summer retreat, noting that under Xi Jinping the once-collective gathering has become a different kind of event, with less deliberative input and more signal-reading from outside observers. The timing coincides with elevated Taiwan Strait tensions and the Hormuz standoff.

What to Watch Tomorrow

1. Whether any Gulf state or U.S. official clarifies the terms of the Hormuz access talks — and whether Washington rejoins negotiations or continues to hold out.
2. The USS Benfold’s operational status and whether the Navy provides any formal explanation for the engineering casualty.
3. Zelensky’s response, if any, to Fedorov’s election call — and whether Ukrainian political unity holds under continued wartime pressure.

What We’re Tracking

Norway’s entry into Namibian oil exploration via Equinor and Chevron merits deeper treatment. African offshore energy is being watched by markets that are already sensitive to Middle Eastern supply disruptions; the strategic timing of this announcement is worth analyzing further.

China’s Beidaihe retreat dynamics are also worth extended analysis. Foreign Policy’s framing — that Xi has transformed collective deliberation into something else — raises questions about who provides internal pushback on decisions affecting Taiwan and the broader Indo-Pacific posture.

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— The America Strikes desk