[Australian Financial Review] The tropical island in the Philippines where Bondi terrorists trained
Related:
[New York Times] Bondi Suspects Were in Southern Philippines, Where ISIS Is Active
Both articles quote Rommel Banlaoi from the Philippines, who was recently smeared by Ray Powell, of SeaLight, and Reuters.
Updated: The War of Ideas in the Indo-Pacific (Rommel Banlaoi)
Read More »Beijing has accused Manila of organising a “premeditated” provocation and dangerous manoeuvres near a disputed reef in the South China Sea, and Washington of making false statements that have escalated tensions in the region.
Manila said Philippine fishing boats near Sabina Shoal had been targeted with water cannons by Chinese coastguard ships in an incident on Friday, while Beijing said Philippine personnel had threatened Chinese officers with knives.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday that the Philippines had assembled a large number of vessels “in an organised and premeditated manner to provoke trouble” in waters near the shoal.
[SCMP] China accuses Philippines of ‘premeditated’ provocations near Sabina Shoal (archived)
Related:
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[Aaron-Matthew Lariosa] VIDEO: China Coast Guard Blasts Fishermen With Water Cannon Near Sabina Shoal, Philippines Dispatches Patrol Boats
Read More »Oh, look — Ray Powel, again, the CIA operative messing around the SCS dispute???
Apparently, I’m living rent-free in the head of a retired U.S. Air Force colonel turned “maritime gray-zone investigator” who thinks the Philippines, China, ASEAN, and the entire South China Sea revolve around his newly invented fantasy threat matrix. Let me make this absolutely clear:
Ray Powell mentioning me — twice now — is A BADGE OF HONOR!! Because if a CIA-adjacent operative (yes, Ray, we all know how “Air Force Attachés” function abroad), working hand-in-hand with Washington’s geopolitical machinery, has me on his radar, it only means one thing:
I’m saying something true enough, loud enough, and inconvenient enough to rattle him.
Imagine Being Ray Powell (CIA), Terrified of Peace, Diplomacy, and a Filipina
Related:
Read More »Lately I’ve been giving everything in my life a soundtrack. SeaLight now has one.
Read More »The view count increased by 100 in just one hour since I first received a notification from WordPress. The numbers just aren’t adding up, and my website is experiencing slow access issues. The last time this happened, it was due to a denial-of-service attack about a year ago when I was deeply involved in researching the Philippines’ ‘Assertive Transparency Initiative.’ It’s interesting how these issues have resurfaced now that I’ve returned to this topic. Unfortunately, I let my Netgear Armor security subscription lapse, so I didn’t receive any notifications this time.
Previous DDoS attacks:
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Health Update
The sinus infection has returned—thankfully, not as severe as last time. I’m cautiously optimistic it stays that way, though another round of antibiotics seems inevitable (and unwelcome). On a brighter note, the back pain is finally easing up. One step forward, one flare-up at a time.
Edit: Spoke too soon. The pain is back.
Read More »The document has been updated, but not the below information.
Document: War of Ideas in the Indo-Pacific document
YouTube: Senate Hearing on China’s Behavior in the Indo-Pacific
Read More »Note that Scarborough Shoal is in disputed territory: What’s Really Going On In the South China Sea Between the Philippines and China.
Scarborough Shoal Incident 2.0: The PLAN Inches Closer to War (archived)
A Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) destroyer and China Coast Guard (CCG) cutter collided 10.5 nautical miles east of Scarborough Shoal in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on the morning of 11 August. It marked the second time China has been embarrassed by the Philippines in these waters. This time, the results appear to have been deadly, as at least four members of the CCG were either severely injured or killed during the violent collision.
…
The latest incident appears to have been set in motion by an order from a Chinese higher authority, most likely the Central Military Commission’s (CMC’s) Joint Operations Center (JOC), to disrupt the Philippine Coast Guard’s “Kadiwa ng Bagong Bayaning Mangingisda (KBBM)” program. The KBBM initiative was unveiled in May 2025 with the intent to provide Philippine fishermen with food security and resupply at sea [See KBBM, below]. Analysis of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data indicates many CCG cutters were arrayed around Scarborough Shoal on 11 August, and as Philippine CG cutters entered waters 20–30 nm around the shoal, CCG and PLAN ships converged on the Philippine cutters to disrupt their food supply operations.
For more than an hour, PLAN guided-missile destroyer Guilin and CCG cutter 3104 conducted a high-speed pursuit of the Philippine Coast Guard cutter BRP Suluan. Based on the events during this pursuit, it appears the CMC JOC ordered the use of physical force to stop the Philippine Coast Guard from their mission. According to Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner, “Our assessment is that the real objective of the PLA Navy ship is to ram our Philippine Coast Guard (vessel). That is also (the) assessment of our Philippine Coast Guard.”
FYI, the author of the above article is one of the founding members of the hawkish Committee on the Present Danger: China. You’ll also find information on the first Scarborough Shoal incident in here, also known as the Scarborough Shoal standoff: August 11 SCS – James E. Fanell – SeaLight.
Background:
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Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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