A Narrow Pacific Waterway is at the Heart of U.S. Plans to Choke China’s Vast Navy +

Reuters reprint: A Narrow Pacific Waterway is at the Heart of U.S. Plans to Choke China’s Vast Navy

Until recently, locals say, this smallest and least populous province of the Philippines was a peaceful backwater. But geography dictates that it is now on the frontline of the great power competition between the United States and China for dominance in the Asia-Pacific region. The islands sit on the southern edge of the Bashi Channel, a major shipping lane between the Philippines and Taiwan that connects the South China Sea with the Western Pacific.

This year’s exercises revealed how the U.S. and its Philippine ally intend to use ground-based anti-ship missiles as part of efforts to deny the Chinese navy access to the Western Pacific by making this waterway impassable in a conflict, Reuters reporting shows. These missiles could also be used to attack a Chinese fleet attempting to invade Taiwan or mount a blockade against the democratically governed island.

Recent Chinese maneuvers show how access to the Bashi Channel is critical for Beijing’s plans in the Pacific. In June, a powerful Chinese navy aircraft carrier battle group used this passage to enter the Western Pacific before launching an extended series of exercises south of Japan, according to Japanese military tracking data.

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The Pentagon’s IPO for War: Now With 100% More Cowbell

The Pentagon’s acquisition system is being overhauled into a “Warfighting Acquisition System,” turbocharging weapons production, slashing bureaucracy, and empowering officials to deliver arms at “wartime speed.” Portfolio Acquisition Executives now wield sweeping authority, startups are courted like prom queens, and the defense industrial base is being rebranded as Silicon Valley with missiles.

So much for the “peace president”—Trump’s arsenal of freedom looks more like an IPO for war, where venture capital meets missile launchers and bureaucrats cosplay as battlefield commanders.

Forging the Arsenal of Freedom

Related:

FoRGED Act Documentation

How the US is preparing a military staging ground near Venezuela + the 160th SOAR(A)

The United States military is upgrading a long-abandoned former Cold War naval base in the Caribbean, a Reuters visual investigation has found, suggesting preparations for sustained operations that could help support possible actions inside Venezuela. 

“The land is going to be next,” he said.

How the US is preparing a military staging ground near Venezuela

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Venezuela Flashpoint: Real-Time Intelligence Analysis

Compounding these indicators is also the confirmed presence of United States special forces support assets (Ocean Trader / Night Stalkers) in the theatre of operations. Washington also authorised Langley to conduct covert action in Venezuela through a presidential finding reported on October through credible media outlets. Grey Dynamics’ real-time monitoring and analysis of the situation aims to deliver continuous updates and verified intelligence on the ongoing flashpoint.

Night Stalkers = 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), abbreviated as 160th SOAR(A), is a special operations force of the United States Army that provides helicopter aviation support for special operations forces. Its missions have included attack, assault, and reconnaissance, and these missions are usually conducted at night, at high speeds, low altitudes, and on short notice.

Future Global Order Pivots on Ukraine Proxy War

Russia’s gradual advance in the Donbass region appears to be forming an operational encirclement of Ukraine’s last major defensive line—its “fortress belt”—a development that could decide not only the fate of the war but also the shape of the emerging global order.

Future Global Order Pivots on Ukraine Proxy War (archived)

Related:

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Donbass [Pokrovsk is the prize]

Washington’s “Second Coming” to Asia: Militants, Ports, and Pressure Points

Source

President Trump’s renewed focus on regaining the Bagram Air Base and developing Pakistan’s Pasni Port signals Washington’s attempt to reassert strategic influence in a region increasingly dominated by China, Russia, and Iran.

Washington’s “second coming” to Asia

Pakistan’s Pasni Port, located in Balochistan province, sits at the crossroads of strategic infrastructure and insurgent resistance. The Western-backed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), active in the region, has long targeted Chinese-financed projects. The BLA maintains ties with both the Pakistan Taliban and ISIS-K—a faction recently linked to recruiting Uygur militants. Separately, U.S. support for Uygur militants predates this trend, with allegations tracing back to the 1970s/1980s. Rep. Perry has claimed that ISIS-K received backing from USAID, adding another layer to the region’s militant entanglements. 

This only deepens my suspicion that recapturing Bagram Air Base could serve as a launchpad—not merely for tactical leverage, but to stir Uygur militant resistance against Beijing or pressure China with a second front in the event of a future Pacific conflict.

Sources:

BLA: U.S. Proxies in Balochistan document

ISIS-K & Uygur militants: ISIS has its sights set on a new potential ally—Uyghur jihadi groups

CIA & Uygur militants: US & TERRORISM IN XINJIANG

Uygur militants: *Xinjiang*

USAID & ISIS-K: Rep. Perry reveals what some of us already knew about USAID

Bagram Air Base: Why Does Trump Want U.S. Troops Back in Afghanistan?

Bonus: Chokepoints Are The Focus Of A New Cold War

Operation Imeri: Stratfor, DefesaNet, and the Rescue Script

Considering Lula still refuses to recognize the outcome of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, the idea of a rescue operation of Maduro feels far-fetched. Lula’s previous alignment with the Biden administration and rejection of Venezuela’s BRICS bid signal distance, not solidarity.

The scale of the proposed rescue would demand massive military mobilization. Brazil’s footprint—limited airpower, zero aerial tankers, no carrier-based projection—renders the logistics implausible. With U.S. destroyers already deployed in the southern Caribbean and Maduro falsely classified as a “narcoterrorist” by Washington, any such operation risks direct confrontation with American assets.

Domestically, the timing couldn’t be worse. Trump 2.0 is already pressuring Brazil over the so-called “persecution” of Bolsonaro, and while national elections aren’t until late 2026, the political cost of a high-risk maneuver like this would be immediate. Lula’s administration is unlikely to burn political capital on a clandestine extraction. The optics alone would be catastrophic.

Beneath the surface of DefesaNet’s coverage lies a 2011 cooperation agreement with Stratfor, the U.S.-based private intelligence firm often dubbed the “Shadow CIA.” This wasn’t editorial alignment—it was infrastructural scripting. Stratfor gained privileged access to regional insight; DefesaNet received complimentary geopolitical reports. The choreography was built in.

When narratives like Operation Imeri surface, they don’t emerge from neutrality—they rehearse proximity, test fault lines, and manufacture urgency. Brazil isn’t just being watched. It’s being written into a role.

This isn’t a serious proposal. It’s narrative theater—manufacturing urgency, choreographing proximity, and distracting from the quieter architecture of soft power already shaping the region. The rescue isn’t about Maduro. It’s about rehearsing alignment, testing thresholds, and scripting Brazil into a role it never auditioned for.

This isn’t covert. It’s combustible.

—Tina Antonis

Related:

Tag: 2024 Venezuelan Presidential election

María Corina Machado is the female Javier Milei (aka US Puppet)