Arnel Satam is the definition of bravery! One man in a tiny wooden boat outsmarting the entire China Coast Guard fleet? Standing up for everyone in South East Asia! Satam has been fishing in these waters for years if not decades and is the source for his livelihood

China has been documented using green military grade lasers in the South China Sea, primarily involving confrontations with the Philippine Coast Guard vessels to temporarily blind crew members well within their own exclusive economic zone. Although this particular footage may be old it's an interesting display of grey-zone tactics and pushing the line of confrontation.

Having depleted fish stocks in its own coastal waters in the early 2000s, Chinese fishing boats now sail to South America. Last year, China accounted for 80 percent of fishing in the waters off Argentina, Ecuador, and Peru. This can not only be seen through AIS ship tracking but also first-hand accounts.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros witnesses China's massive artificial island on Mischief Reef just 130 nautical miles from Palawan, well within Philippines's EEZ. During a Coast Guard Maritime Domain Awareness flight on Feb 21 show clear sights of runways, hangars, piers, & buildings.

South Korea has implemented a strict zero-tolerance policy toward illegal fishing by any vessels (not just Chinese) in its waters, and recently, it has intensified these efforts through directives from President Lee Jae Myung to impose heavier fines and stronger responses. This includes plans to increase penalties up to 1.5 billion won for violations. Other nations facing similar challenges might consider adopting comparable strategies to address ongoing illegal activities until compliance improves like we are seeing in South Korea.

Looking deeper into the data on PLA activity around Taiwan you can see no no sudden spike from 2024 to 25 (most likely due to internal China & PLA issues), but it's clear there has been a steady ramp up from 2023 after pro Taiwan independence President Lai's inauguration. This sustained pressure is worth watching closely.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on a routine Maritime Domain Awareness patrol around Scarborough Shoal spots a Chinese J-11 fighter jet circling at ~6,000 ft at 10:30 AM. Likely launched from Woody Island, China's man-made island outpost.

A convoy of military equipment was sighted overnight driving from Kaohsiung's harbor to Zuoying Naval Base. Taiwan has sought procurement of a total of 111 units specifically with the decision to deploy them to forward islands in mind, which could be 10kms from mainland China and allow Taiwan to strike much deeper than shown here.

China occupies 20 outposts in the Paracels. Three of these now have protected harbors capable of hosting large numbers of naval and civilian vessels. Five of the islands contain helipads. And Woody Island, sports an airstrip, hangars, and a deployment of HQ-9 surface-to-air missile batteries. Extending China's strike range from there mainland.

If there ever is a better image showing the David v Goliath that is the coast guard bullying fishing vessels, id love to see it!

Over the past few years, several Chinese underwater drones have been recovered by Southeast Asian nations. Many of these discoveries occurred well within the countries' Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). The drones are suspected of having military applications as are seemingly not apart of any research organization. They are typically not brightly colored but rather dark-toned to evade detection. Below shows a map of areas where drones have been found but many more discoveries would be expected.

On November 30 in Northern Philippine Waters Chinese Navy vessel 106 in a heated exchange instructed a fishing vessel to leave the area, but it had no effect on these brave fishermen. There is yet to be a formal apology from Chinese officials over the vessels behavior. Full footage can be seen on my profile.