The South China Sea remains one of the world’s most volatile flashpoints, where strategic ambition collides with the sovereignty of smaller states. At the heart of this struggle lies China’s sweeping “nine-dash line” claim, invalidated by the 2016 arbitral ruling but still enforced through island-building and “gray-zone” coercion. For years, the Philippines appeared the passive…
On Friday, September 5, 2025, Filipino forces successfully brought food, fuel, and fresh troops to the BRP Sierra Madre, the rusty World War II–era ship that serves as the Philippines’ outpost at Second Thomas Shoal, also known as Ayungin Shoal. The resupply mission took place despite growing Chinese activity in the area, including water cannon…
The South China Sea has once again become the stage for a dangerous game of cat and mouse. In late August 2025, Philippine patrols confirmed something alarming—more than two dozen Chinese vessels massed around Scarborough Shoal and Ayungin Shoal. These weren’t just harmless fishing boats. The swarm included China Coast Guard ships, maritime militia lashed…
The Philippines has embraced a bold new approach in its struggle against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea: “assertive transparency.” Instead of keeping maritime confrontations hidden, Manila now actively documents and publicizes incidents, whether it’s Chinese water cannons drenching Philippine supply boats, ramming maneuvers at shoals, or the intimidating presence of swarms of Chinese…
Sandy Cay, a scattering of tiny sandbars near Pag-asa Island, has abruptly emerged as the newest pressure point in the South China Sea. For years, this reef was little more than a footnote on maritime maps, submerged at high tide and ignored by most of the world. But in 2025, it has been thrust to…
Imagine a silent, invisible killer lurking beneath the waves—not a submarine or torpedo, but an autonomous, AI-powered sea mine. The South China Sea is no ordinary body of water, serving as one of the world’s most vital arteries of commerce and a crucible of overlapping territorial claims. At the center of this storm is China’s…
It began with a single image that ricocheted across social media feeds: a smiling Bengaluru tech CEO posing shoulder-to-shoulder with Elon Musk. The photo looked like the kind of casual backstage selfie that fuels modern celebrity mystique, authentic, unpolished, and instantly shareable. Adding to its allure was the caption: a bold quote attributed to Musk…
It was August 2025 when the world saw the unthinkable: a Chinese naval destroyer and a China Coast Guard cutter slamming into each other in chaotic pursuit of a much smaller Philippine ship near Scarborough Shoal. The incident, caught on video and broadcast worldwide, became the latest proof of how dangerous the contest for the…
Fresh satellite images have just blown the lid on what Beijing doesn’t want the world to see. Captured by Maxar Technologies, the photos show a battered Chinese Coast Guard ship docked at the Yulin Naval Base in Hainan, flanked by tugboats as crews scramble to repair its mangled frame. The most striking detail? A bow…
In the pre-dawn hours of 1999, retired Philippine Navy Vice Admiral Eduardo Santos orchestrated one of the most quietly audacious maneuvers in modern maritime history. Without fanfare, he piloted the aging landing ship BRP Sierra Madre across the restless waters of the South China Sea and deliberately ran it aground on the reef known internationally…
