Ray Powell & Jim Carouso dive into the dramatic 11 August 2025 South China Sea incident Scarborough Shoal.

Collecting and reporting maritime intelligence is a core mission of China’s maritime militia.

The Mission Ready Podcast sits down with Ray Powell, a retired U.S. Air Force officer with 35 years of experience, to unpack key issues shaping the region: ➡️ U.S.–China relations & historical context ➡️ Defense strategy shifts in the Philippines ➡️ Multinational military exercises like Balikatan ➡️ Maritime transparency and public-private partnerships ➡️ China’s civil-military fusion strategy

China’s approach in the South China Sea is becoming far more aggressive. How does America view the rise of grey zone conflicts in the Indo-Pacific? In this illuminating episode, Ray Powell and James Carouso, hosts of the “Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?” podcast, dive into the critical importance of this region for global security and its implications for the second term of the Trump administration.

On this episode of the Defense Tech Underground , SeaLight Director Ray Powell describes his 35 year career in the United States Air Force, his path to Stanford, and his journey to founding SeaLight. He explains China’s gray zone tactics in the South China Sea and SeaLight’s efforts to shed light on those activities. Ray offers insight into needed countermeasures to build up readiness and deterrence as well as the broader geopolitical landscape in the Indo-Pacific.

China Maritime Report No. 46 from the U.S. Naval War College's China Maritime Studies Institute

Ray Powell, director of the Sealight initiative at Stanford University's Gordian Knott Center for National Security Innovation and host of the "Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific Podcast," joins Eric and CGSP Southeast Asia Editor Edwin Shri Bimo to discuss why the national security team in Washington remains appears to be more committed to the Philippines than other alliance partners.

Al Jazeera documentary on the tensions between the Philippines and China over the South China Sea.

Pressure Points by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyzes the Chinese military's use of air and maritime coercion to enforce Beijing's excessive territorial claims and advance China's security and defense interests in the Indo-Pacific.

The Submarine Cable Map is a free and regularly updated resource from TeleGeography.

Manila pushed back against China’s plans to create a national nature reserve at a disputed South China Sea maritime feature, a move officials say could increase the People’s Liberation Army’s foothold in the area.

Two Chinese government ships have left Japan's territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea after navigating there for about 12 hours.

The naval exercises represent far more than routine defence co-operation; they have become a flashpoint in the escalating diplomatic tensions between South Africa's ruling party and the Trump administration.

The move follows years of clashes with neighbors over Beijing’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.

With F-35s and P-8s on order, Singapore is fast building one of the most modern air forces in the region.

hinese oil rigs in waters claimed by Taiwan have stirred controversy in recent days, drawing a sharp protest from Taipei, with some analysts saying the structures are part of a strategy to normalize encroachment.

It appeared that a Chinese survey ship was playing the snake game on old mobile phones in the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Batanes.

China's military on Saturday said its forces had followed and warned a Canadian and an Australian warship, which were sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, in a move it criticised as a provocation.

A Canadian and an Australian warship entered the Taiwan Strait on Friday, one day after the Chinese military accused both countries of trying to stir tensions with naval exercises in the South China Sea.

Filipino forces transported food, fuel and new personnel to a Philippine territorial outpost in a fiercely disputed shoal in the South China Sea, two Philippe officials said. Friday’s delivery was carried out despite tensions that flared recently at the atoll after China staged water cannon drills and deployed additional coast guard and suspected militia vessels nearby.