Category: Philippines

South China Sea: InfoOp Podcast (ASEAN)

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
YouTube

Clip from Episode 1 of Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? Podcast (Apple Podcasts) with Ray Powell and Jim Carouso. 

Powell and Carouso worked together at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia. They’re trying to “shape” the Indo-Pacific for US corporate interests and to provoke a war with China.  

Jim Carouso is currently with the Center for Strategic & International Studies. CSIS is funded by various governments, including the United States, and corporations. Carouso is also with BowerGroupAsia in Singapore. He formerly worked in the State Department and was a chargé d’ affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra and the U.S. Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Ray Powell was formerly a Defense Attaché in Canberra, Australia.

Source

The Defense Attaché System is part of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Source.

More on SeaLight’s (formerly Project Myoushu) ‘assertive transparency’ campaign.

Previously:

SCS: The Office of Naval Research funded Stanford’s GKC

Philippines’ ‘assertive transparency’ strategy is causing them to miss out economically

PH: Compared To China, US Trade, Investment Offers Laughable + More

China exposes Philippines’ reneging on South China Sea commitment

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Source

Related:

China exposes Philippines’ reneging on South China Sea commitment

Wang pointed out that the Philippines has made a solemn promise to tow away the military vessel illegally grounded at Ren’ai Jiao, noting that 25 years have passed, and the Philippines has still not towed away the warship.

Noting that the Philippines has violated the understanding reached between the two sides on the proper management of the situation on Ren’ai jiao, the spokesperson said despite the Philippines’ commitment not to reinforce the grounded warship and to notify China in advance of any plans to resupply it, China, out of humanitarian considerations, has made temporary special arrangements for Philippine vessels transporting necessary supplies to the warship multiple times.

“However, the Philippines continues to send government vessels and warships to forcibly enter Ren’ai Jiao, attempting to transport construction materials for large-scale repairs and reinforcement of the warship in order to achieve permanent occupation of Ren’ai Jiao,” Wang said.

PH did promise to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin

Philippines Budgets for a Permanent Base at Second Thomas Shoal

It’s Time to Build Combined Forward Operating Base Sierra Madre

Throwing Washington Overboard.

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The present war days are furnishing an opportunity to study the spirit of capitalism at close range. Much that we have said about the inner make-up of the capitalist system must have seemed “theoretic”; the historic facts upon which we based our arguments not having fallen within the personal observation of the masses, our conclusions were disregarded. Now, however, the facts are at hand; all can see, hear, feel, smell them.

Throwing Washington Overboard.

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: March 25, 2024

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

At least some are closer to the homeland.

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: March 25, 2024

U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) are forward-deployed to the region under Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA). PATFORSWA deploys Coast Guard personnel and ships with U.S. and regional naval forces throughout the Middle East. Initially deployed in 2003 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, PATFORSWA is now a permanent presence based out of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Previously:

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: March 18, 2024

Philippines’ ‘assertive transparency’ strategy is causing them to miss out economically

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The Philippines is going all in with the United States and bracing itself against lost Chinese largesse. President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr will fly to Washington next month to attend the US-Japan-Philippines trilateral leaders’ summit. It will be his fourth visit to the US since taking office as president less than two years ago.

South China Sea: Philippines must softly manage disputes or miss out economically

Previously:

PH: Compared To China, US Trade, Investment Offers Laughable + More

SCS: The Office of Naval Research funded Stanford’s GKC

China blames Philippines for ship collision in waters near Ren’ai Jiao + Notes

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Source

China on Tuesday accused the Philippines of deliberately ramming a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel in disregard of China’s repeated warnings, as four Philippine vessels illegally entered the waters adjacent to the Ren’ai Jiao of China’s Nansha Qundao.

CCG spokesman Gan Yu made the remark after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said one of its ships was damaged on Tuesday in a collision with a CCG vessel and four Filipino crew were injured. 

China blames Philippines for ship collision in waters near Ren’ai Jiao

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The Philippines has been chartering civilian vessels for their resupply missions.

Source

A Philippine civilian boat, escorted by two navy ships and two coast guard vessels, was on a monthly supply run to a small number of Filipino marines stationed on the ‘Sierra Madre’ – a warship intentionally run aground on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 in order to reinforce The Philippines’ territorial claims in the area.

Source

I suspect that this incident was staged. Powell, from the DoD-funded Stanford GKC’s SeaLight (Project Myoushu), said that it was the same vessel that was damaged last time. FYI, I clipped this video before he started talking about the upcoming US-Philippine-Japan meeting to ‘strengthen military ties’.

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Powell whining, on X, for ‘international support’.

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South China Sea: Philippines debates boosting war readiness through mandatory military training for students

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Renewed talks on a bill that would reinstate a mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) programme in colleges and universities in the Philippines has sparked debate on whether it would be effective in strengthening the country’s military amid growing tensions in the South China Sea.

South China Sea: Philippines debates boosting war readiness through mandatory military training for students

PH: Compared To China, US Trade, Investment Offers Laughable + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

Compared To China, US Trade, Investment Offers Laughable

On the other hand, the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) donations of China alone that are reality– Chico River Irrigation Pump, Davao Bucana Bridge, Estrella-Pantaleon and Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, the ongoing Kaliwa Dam Project that would provide 600/mld (million liters per day) to drying Metro-Manila and hundreds other projects– already count billions of dollars, not to mention private investments like DITO Telecoms’ $ 3.9 billion investment in our telecom sector.

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