The Batanes Islands are the northernmost jewels of the Philippines, tiny, windswept, and breathtakingly beautiful. But geography is destiny. Just 200 kilometers from Taiwan, perched at the gateway of the Luzon Strait, these islands have transformed from a cultural treasure into a frontline chokepoint, a watchtower, and a potential tripwire in the Indo-Pacific. Their significance…
Footage just dropped: two small Filipino boats approaching Chinese Coast Guard vessels near Ren’ai Jiao or Second Thomas Shoal. The incident at Ren’ai Jiao unfolded in mid-August 2025, another chapter in the ever-tense standoff over the Second Thomas Shoal. To understand why every confrontation at Ren’ai Jiao feels like a spark in a powder keg,…
If you thought our last video on the Balikatan exercises was already intense, wait ‘til you hear this, just days ago, a fleet of U.S. A-10 “Warthog” attack jets thundered into Clark Air Base in the Philippines. That sound of engines ripping the skies? That wasn’t just aircraft landing, it was history touching down right…
The South China Sea, a flashpoint of power and pride, where overlapping claims and rising tensions have turned calm waters into one of the world’s most dangerous hotspots. For years, China has leaned on its sweeping “nine-dash line” , a claim already struck down by the Hague Tribunal in 2016, yet still enforced on the…
In a region already on edge, from the rising tension in the South China Sea to China’s creeping military muscle, the United States and the Philippines just made a bold move. They’ve approved more than 500 joint military activities for 2026, the most ambitious defense cooperation in our history, and a clear message that Manila…
Australia and the Philippines Reaffirm South China Sea Order Amid Rising Tensions MANILA, August 2025 — In an explicit show of solidarity, Australia and the Philippines have strengthened their resolve to uphold a rules-based international order in the increasingly contentious South China Sea region, responding to mounting confrontations with China. A United Front in the…
The South China Sea, long a hotbed of geopolitical tension, is now witnessing a dramatic shift in power. To understand why, we need to step back into the bigger picture of the dispute that has shaped our region for decades. And then, boom, the numbers hit you: a historic fleet expansion, the kind of transformation…
From Manila to LA, San Francisco to Davao, welcome back! Remember in our last video, we talked about how rural farming communities in the Philippines are fighting against land grabs and militarization, and how heartbreaking it was when another Lumad school was forced to close? Well, today’s story takes that same thread but cranks it…
Remember how, in our last video, we talked about the rising tension in the South China Sea? How every week seems to bring a new confrontation between the Philippine Coast Guard and Chinese vessels? Well, what happened just days ago could mark a turning point in this struggle and it’s not just another headline, it’s…
In our previous coverage of the Ayungin Shoal standoff, we explored the rising tensions in the West Philippine Sea. Now, those tensions have flared again, this time at Scarborough Shoal, in an incident marked by high-stakes maneuvering, visible damage, and competing narratives from Manila, Beijing, and Washington. On August 11, 2025, the Philippine Coast Guard’s…
