The US Navy has redeployed an amphibious strike group originally bound for the Middle East to the South China Sea, a move experts say may signal Washington shifting its focus back to the Pacific region after months of distractions from the Iran war.

The United States began turning its military attention to the Middle East early this year, moving global military assets, including those in the Pacific, nearer to Iran.

Among those assets was the USS Tripoli group, which is based in Sasebo, Japan, and is one of the US’ two main naval groups in the Pacific.

The Tripoli group is still in the Middle East but US Navy statements and satellite images indicate that other naval forces are coming into the Pacific.

The USS Boxer amphibious assault ship, accompanied by the amphibious transport dock USS Portland, joined the Seventh Fleet in the South China Sea from early June, according to US Navy statements and satellite images.

The Boxer’s home port is San Diego and it was initially bound for the Middle East before being redirected to the Pacific.