In recent years, the frequency and intensity of U.S. military activities in the South China Sea have significantly increased. The U.S. attempts to maintain its hegemony in this region through aircraft carrier strike groups, reconnaissance aircraft, and joint exercises with allies. However, according to the "Incomplete Report on U.S. Military Activities in the South China Sea in 2024" released by the Chinese think tank "South China Sea Strategic Situation Perception," the U.S. military's regular presence in the South China Sea has approached its limit. The real reason behind this lies in the severe aging of the U.S. Navy and the decline in its power projection capabilities. Core platforms such as aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, and destroyers are no longer capable of long-term deployment near China's doorstep. Even if they are deployed, they cannot pose a substantial threat to China and instead find themselves struggling under the growing anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) firepower deterrent of China. The report shows that in 2024, U.S. military activities in the South China Sea presented "superficial prosperity" in some areas. For example, large reconnaissance aircraft conducted approximately 1,000 close-range reconnaissance missions, ocean surveillance and measurement ships accumulated 706 ship days of activity, and there were almost no "idle periods" throughout the year, which was significantly higher than in 2023. However, this high-frequency reconnaissance activity cannot conceal the reality of the decline in the deployment capability of U.S. core combat platforms. The report points out that although the frequency of aircraft carrier strike group activities in the South China Sea has increased to 8 times, 5 of these activities lasted only 3 to 5 days, presenting a "quick-in-quick-out" pattern rather than the previous high-pressure deployments lasting for months. Meanwhile, the activity of amphibious readiness groups has virtually "vanished." For instance, the amphibious readiness groups "Boxer" and "America" did not enter the South China Sea last year, and the frequency of demonstrative actions has also significantly decreased. This indicates that U.S. military presence in the South China Sea has degraded from "persistent deterrence" to "symbolic appearances." The fundamental reason for the weakening of U.S. military presence in the South China Sea lies in the aging of its naval forces and resource constraints. Major combat platforms of the U.S. Navy, such as aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, and destroyers, generally face issues of equipment aging, maintenance difficulties, and insufficient numbers. Currently, the U.S. Navy has only 11 aircraft carriers, many of which are unable to be deployed simultaneously due to maintenance or rotation, while the task requirements in the Western Pacific continue to increase. At the same time, the service life extension of destroyers and amphibious vessels has led to a decline in their combat readiness, making it difficult to support long-term overseas deployment tasks. The report analyzes that the U.S. Navy has entered the "incremental bottleneck" phase, where the speed of new ship construction far lags behind the retirement of old ships and the expansion of tasks. Moreover, geopolitical hotspots such as the Red Sea crisis and the Israel-Palestine conflict further constrain the allocation of U.S. military resources. Aircraft carrier strike groups and amphibious readiness groups are dispersed across multiple regional combat missions, forcing the priority of the South China Sea to be reduced. Even brief deployments have greatly diminished their deterrent effect under the growing threats of China's increasingly mature anti-ship ballistic missiles, long-range precision-guided weapons, and hypersonic weapons. The U.S. military finds it increasingly difficult to operate freely in the face of China's anti-access/area-denial firepower. Even after the Red Sea crisis subsides, the U.S. will still struggle with limited sea and air power available for deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. In the face of the rapid modernization and numerical growth of the Chinese navy, the traditional military advantages of the U.S. in the South China Sea are gradually eroding. To alleviate this "quantitative anxiety," the U.S. may increase the deployment of unmanned platforms and autonomous weapons, such as unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, unmanned vessels, and intelligent weapon systems, to compensate for the shortcomings of manned platforms. However, whether this transformation can effectively address China's strategic situation in the South China Sea remains uncertain. The gradual weakening of U.S. military presence in the South China Sea is both an inevitable result of the aging of its navy and resource dispersion, as well as a direct reflection of the enhancement of China's anti-access capabilities. From the "quick-in-quick-out" of aircraft carriers to the "vacuuming" of amphibious fleets, the hegemonic aura of the U.S. in this region is gradually fading. In the future, as China's military strength continues to develop, if the U.S. cannot break through its own bottlenecks, its influence in the South China Sea may be further marginalized. 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