THE BEAT: DECEMBER 21–28 — THE SAME CREW, THE SAME CORNER

By Cliff Potts
Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Overview

If this were a police blotter, it would read like the same gang working the same block, night after night. No shootouts this week—just intimidation, crowding, and the occasional good deed loudly filmed and replayed like it erases the rap sheet. From December 21 to December 28 (Philippine Standard Time), the pattern across the West Philippine Sea and the wider Indo-Pacific stayed familiar: pressure without pause.

The Corner: Scarborough / Huangyan

December 25
On Christmas Day, a Chinese vessel assisted a Filipino fisherman near Scarborough Shoal. On its face, that’s a clean act. At street level, though, the body-cam footage came with a megaphone: proof-of-life turned into proof-of-legitimacy. Philippine authorities pushed back on the framing, making clear that a single assist doesn’t launder an illegal presence into lawful conduct. That’s not charity—that’s narrative control.

The Slow Squeeze: Close-Quarters Pressure

December 22–28
Reporters embedded with Philippine patrols documented repeated close maneuvering—ships crowding ships, bows cutting lanes, distances shrinking to the kind that turn “routine” into “incident” by accident alone. No collision headlines this week, just the steady heat that keeps everyone on edge and the insurance adjusters awake.

The Construction Crew: Facts on the Water

December 22
China announced new offshore production coming online in the South China Sea. No sirens, no fists—just steel, piping, and timelines. It’s the cleanest move in the book: build something expensive, call it normal, and dare neighbors to argue with gravity.

The Neighborhood Reacts: Japan Tightens Up

December 26
Across the street, Japan signed off on a record defense budget. The vote lands after a month of sharper rhetoric and drills in the southwest approaches. Translation: when one crew keeps leaning, the block organizes.

The Lookouts: Australia & New Zealand

December 22
Australian and New Zealand warships operated together in the South China Sea, refueling and cross-decking like professionals who know the rules and plan to be seen following them. No confrontation needed. Presence is the message.

What This Week Really Shows

This wasn’t a blow-up week. It was a pressure week—the kind that does the real work. Close passes. Camera-ready rescues. Infrastructure announcements. Budget votes. Allied sails on the horizon. That’s how territory gets tested without triggering alarms. Call it low-grade coercion, normalization, or just a gang that never leaves the corner. The name matters less than the pattern.

And for the record: helping a fisherman is good. Turning that help into a shield for unlawful control is not.

For more social commentary and ghost stories, please see Occupy 2.5 at https://Occupy25.com

References (APA)

Associated Press. (2025, December 25). China says it assisted Filipino fisherman near Scarborough Shoal; Philippines disputes framing.

Reuters. (2025, December 22). China’s CNOOC starts production at new South China Sea offshore project.

Reuters. (2025, December 26). Japan approves record defense budget amid regional tensions.

Philippine Coast Guard. (2025, December 22–28). Operational reports and media embeds documenting close-quarters encounters in the West Philippine Sea.

Australian Department of Defence. (2025, December 22). HMAS Ballarat conducts operations with HMNZS Aotearoa in the South China Sea.

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