China has intensified its activities in the Yellow Sea as part of a broader strategy to assert regional influence, raising tensions with South Korea. Actions by Beijing include the installation of steel buoys, conducting warship exercises involving aircraft carriers, and establishing no-sail zones. These measures have unsettled South Korean officials and are viewed as efforts to prevent challenges from neighboring countries and the United States to China's regional dominance. Satellite imagery and AIS data analyzed by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and the Center for Strategic and International Studies highlight a timeline of China's deployments in the area. Meanwhile, the redeployment of U.S. naval assets from the Western Pacific to the Middle East may create a power imbalance, potentially allowing China to strengthen its maritime position in Southeast Asia.