SeaLight Director Ray Powell's exclusive interview with Philippine Secretary of National Defense on the challenges of building a credible deterrent against an increasingly aggressive superpower.

On July 4th, Executive Director Ray Powell issues a public statement of Beijing's campaign to discredit SeaLight and the Philippines' transparency program.

Iran’s maritime gray zone activities have long been central to its approach towards the Persian Gulf at large. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy and the regular Iranian Navy both play key roles, often coordinating with regional partners and, increasingly, with Russia and China.

China's oceanographic survey activities routinely conflate legitimate scientific research with assertion of excessive maritime claims and collection of military intelligence--a classic gray zone tactic.

A recent incident around the contested Senkaku Islands highlight's Tokyo's need for more and better options to counter Beijing's maritime aggression.

Despite Beijing’s assertions that the environmental condition of Scarborough Shoal is “excellent” and that authorities have cracked down on giant clam harvesting, the preponderance of the evidence—including legal documents, investigative journalism, satellite imagery and even Chinese state records—demonstrates that its stewardship since 2012 has actually resulted in severe damage to the shoal and its ecosystem.

Over the past 12 months, China has vastly increased its forces blocking Philippine access to Scarborough Shoal, building a huge exclusion zone around the contested feature as the Philippines has pushed back with what it can.

After South Korea confronted China with suspicions about its Yellow Sea aquaculture operations--culminating in a tense maritime standoff--SeaLight broke the story open with newly published images of the "steel structures" roiling tensions in Northeast Asia.

Updated post: Optical weapons are non-lethal weapons used to cause temporary blindness or confuse personnel. They include lasers (dazzlers) and stroboscopic lights.

China's increasing use of sonic weapons as a gray zone tactic against its rivals includes sirens, sonar and long-range acoustic devices.

China has accused Japan—a United States treaty ally in Northeast Asia—of sending spy planes to its so-called Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the contested East China Sea.

U.S. to Construct Philippine Fast Boat Base Near South China Sea Flashpoints Aaron-Matthew Lariosa July 14, 2025 5:29 PM Marines and Sailors assigned to Maritime Reconnaissance Platoon, Reconnaissance Company, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, survey a boat lane for obstacles and simulated vessels of interest off the coast of Palawan, Philippines in 2024. US Marine Corps Photo The U.S. plans to fund and build a facility capable of hosting watercraft and assault boats on the western coast of Palawan in support of Manila’s operations into the disputed waters of the South China Sea, according to new documents.

Philippine Coast Guard Intercepts Chinese Spy Ship Aaron-Matthew Lariosa July 13, 2025 8:18 AM BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) hails the People’s Liberation Army Navy Type 815G-class electronic surveillance ship Tianwangxing on July 12, 2025. Philippine Coast Guard photo A Philippine Coast Guard cutter intercepted a Chinese Navy spy ship within Manila’s western exclusive economic zone over the weekend.

Vietnam recently deployed a ship to intercept a Chinese survey vessel operating off its east coast, according to ship tracking data. The Chinese vessel spent much of the second half of June within Vietnam's maritime zone, in what Hanoi says is a violation of its sovereignty.

Japan is in talks with the Philippines over a potential transfer of used navy destroyers and maritime surveillance aircraft, as part of Tokyo’s efforts to bolster Manila’s defense capabilities amid China’s growing assertiveness in the region.

The USS George Washington’s Manila port call comes just days after China deployed two of its carriers to the Western Pacific for military drills

Chinese officials have asked that a Filipino documentary be removed from future screenings at the New Zealand Doc Edge Festival, saying doing so would be in the interest of Chinese-New Zealand relations.

Squaring the circle between public opinion and political rhetoric.

The first five land-based Harpoon anti-ship missile launcher vehicles, along with a radar truck, have arrived in Taiwan from the United States, a source familiar with the matter told CNA Saturday.

The Philippines joined the recently-concluded coast guard drills of the United States and Japan in what experts see as a “counter-China” move and a nod to “minilateralism” amid the regional power’s growing aggression.