South China Sea: InfoOp Podcast (ASEAN)

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

Manila escalates South China Sea row as it continues trick of ‘playing victim’ + More

Full video

Manila escalates South China Sea row as it continues trick of ‘playing victim’

According to experts, Marcos’ tough words serve domestic political purposes when he needs to shift Filipinos’ discontent over his administration’s performance on livelihood and the economy, and are also a response to the “support” from countries outside the region, including the US. 

The US is the biggest external disturbance to peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Ding said, “without instigation from US, it is more likely that China and the Philippines would manage their differences through negotiation and consultation.”

Related:

The facts and truth about Ren’ai Jiao

Read More »

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

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

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

Related:

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’.

Source

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

Source

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

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.

Related:

Read More »

Lighting Up the Gray Zone: The Philippines-Taiwan Counter-Coercion Toolkit

Perry World House’s Thomas Shattuck and Robin Garcia are out with an important new white paper which recommends the public release of visual information to counter China’s coercive activities, using the Philippines and Taiwan as examples. As the champions of “assertive transparency”, SeaLight enthusiastically welcomes this timely new scholarship!

Lighting Up the Gray Zone: The Philippines-Taiwan Counter-Coercion Toolkit

Perry World House is at the University of Pennsylvania, another university funded by the US government. I’ve updated my Project Myoushu document, to reflect the following:

The origin of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation. It’s sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, an organization within the Department of Navy. I saw it over at the Asian Century Journal, yesterday.

From a previous post.

Related:

Documents

Japan, U.S. and Philippines to discuss stronger military ties & US, Philippines to expand strategic port

Quotes by Lenin to reflect on and some updates

I needed some inspiration.

The more democratic the system of government is, the clearer it will be to the workers that the root of the evil is not the lack of rights, but capitalism.

Vladimir Lenin

Under capitalism democratism is restricted, cramped, curtailed, mutilated by all the conditions of wage slavery and of the poverty and misery of the masses.

Democracy for an insignificant minority, democracy for the rich: this is the democratism of capitalist society

Vladimir Lenin, The State and Revolution

Updates:

Read More »

4 Philippine Sailors Injured, 2 Vessels Damaged in Chinese Attempt to Block Second Thomas Shoal Resupply

4 Philippine Sailors Injured, 2 Vessels Damaged in Chinese Attempt to Block Second Thomas Shoal Resupply

As a result of the incident, Powell thinks that Manila “has the right to expect a more muscular response from its partners and allies.” After last year’s incidents, both the U.S. and Australia held joint maritime and aerial patrols with Philippine military forces in the South China Sea. The Philippines expects to hold more joint patrols with not only American and Australian forces, but also with countries such as France, Canada and Japan.

Yesterday, Philippine President BongBong Marcos vowed that the country would “push back” when its sovereignty was ignored in reference to China’s actions in the region during a speech in Australia. He further stressed that the Philippines’ stance on the South China Sea was guided by its interests, not at the “beck and call” of the United States.

BBM was at the Lowy Institute, a think tank funded by the Australian government, etc.

Related:

Philippines Budgets for a Permanent Base at Second Thomas Shoal

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

Philippines Game Changer Analysis – Project Myoushu – South China Sea