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

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.

Taiwan Security Monitor (TSM) is a student-driven research initiative dedicated to informing and improving the public discourse on cross-Strait security issues. Focused on the intersection of open-source research, geospatial data, and policy analysis, TSM provides timely and valuable insights into the evolving cross-Strait security landscape. TSM’s lines of effort includes tracking major military movements, maintaining a comprehensive repository of resources related to cross-Strait security, analyzing visual imagery, and compiling historical data on foreign military sales to Taiwan. By leveraging open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools and techniques, TSM’s team of student researchers monitor key developments and present clear, data-driven insights for policymakers, journalists, researchers, and the public. TSM is directed by Dr. Michael Hunzeker, an associate professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Government and Policy.

China may be preparing for island-building at Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea, in a move that could bolster its sweeping claims over the waterway and heighten regional tensions, analysts said over the weekend.

The multimillion-dollar plan, while seemingly a routine partnership, will deepen Washington’s regional footprint under a non-military banner.

Beijing is trying to push Canberra and other Western nations out of the South China Sea.

Recent satellite imagery shows what appears to be a barrier placed by China at the mouth of a contested fishing ground in the South China Sea.

Australia has accused a Chinese military aircraft of releasing flares "in close proximity" to its patrol jet over the South China Sea.

The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) transited the Singapore Strait on Friday and is now operating in the South China Sea following a three-month stint in the Middle East.

A Russian naval flotilla arrived this week in the hotly contested South China Sea, where several countries—including Moscow's quasi-ally China—have overlapping territorial claims.

Chinese customs officers in eastern Shandong province have seized 60,000 maps that "mislabelled" the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory. The maps, authorities said, also "omitted important islands" in the South China Sea, where Beijing's claims overlap with those of its neighbours, including the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Philippines and China accused each other on Sunday of responsibility for a maritime confrontation near disputed islands in the South China Sea, further escalating tensions in the resource-rich waterway.

Delegates maintain Beijing’s grey-zone campaign against Taiwan is a deliberate strategy designed to erode confidence, and it must fail to deliver any political concessions