By Prof. Anna Malindog-Uy

 

Oh, look — Ray Powel, again, the CIA operative messing around the SCS dispute???

Apparently, I’m living rent-free in the head of a retired U.S. Air Force colonel turned “maritime gray-zone investigator” who thinks the Philippines, China, ASEAN, and the entire South China Sea revolve around his newly invented fantasy threat matrix. Let me make this absolutely clear:

Ray Powell mentioning me — twice now — is A BADGE OF HONOR!! Because if a CIA-adjacent operative (yes, Ray, we all know how “Air Force Attachés” function abroad), working hand-in-hand with Washington’s geopolitical machinery, has me on his radar, it only means one thing:

I’m saying something true enough, loud enough, and inconvenient enough to rattle him.

And thank you, Ray — because every time you drop my name in your U.S. Senate Hearing testimonies or SEALIGHT write-ups, you actually amplify my voice and legitimacy. Please continue. I insist.

Let’s Clear a Few Things Up, Ray

1. The United States is NOT a party to the South China Sea dispute. Not a claimant. Not a coastal state. Not affected. Zero locus standi. Yet Ray speaks as though America owns the place.

2. The United States is NOT even a signatory to UNCLOS. Imagine lecturing everyone about “rules-based order” while refusing to ratify the very rulebook.

3. The SCS is NOT America’s backyard.

Not your lake, Ray.

Not your jurisdiction.

Not your playground for Cold War cosplay.

But sure—keep pretending your “assertive transparency” is some noble crusade instead of a geopolitical psy-op campaign fronting for U.S. strategic interests.

Ray’s Narrative vs. Reality

Ray Powell’s 2025 testimony (see page 9) proudly name-drops me as one of the Filipinos supposedly being “trained,” “credentialed,” or “used” by Beijing in their political warfare operations.

My goodness, Ray, how insecure can you get?

Ray, sweetheart, you didn’t even bother to understand anything I’ve written or said. You simply slapped a label on me because I refuse to be part of your anti-China narrative factory.

Let me say this slowly:

**Promoting peaceful coexistence, diplomacy, dialogue, common development, and a multipolar world order is NOT “pro-Beijing or Pro-China.”

It is PRO-FILIPINO. It is PRO-PEACE. It is PRO-REGIONAL PEACE, SECURITY AND STABILITY.**

Seriously Ray???. Do you honestly believe that advocating peaceful resolution, de-escalation, and ASEAN centrality is some sort of crime against Philippine patriotism/nationalism? Are you mad???

If that’s your logic, Ray, then the entire world — from ASEAN to the UN — must be Beijing’s “agents,” too.

Is Peace Now a Crime, Ray?

Let’s examine the nonsense: You consider the following as “CCP narratives”:

Peaceful coexistence

Common development

Shared future

Diplomacy and dialogue

Peaceful settlement of disputes

Regional stability and cooperation

My question:

Are you insane? Since when did peace become an anti-Filipino or pro-China position?

The Philippines needs peace for economic growth.

ASEAN needs peace for regional stability.

Ordinary Filipinos need peace to live their lives.

The region needs diplomatic space — NOT American militarized chaos.

And yes, Ray, the world is already multipolar. You and your cohorts in Washington are the only ones still in denial.

Ray Powell’s Real Agenda

Your testimony reads like a Pentagon wish list, not a security analysis. Your so-called SeaLight project? A geopolitical propaganda machine disguised as “maritime transparency.”

Your “assertive transparency” crusade? A digital extension of U.S. military signaling. Your “gray-zone” narrative? A psychological tool to manufacture fear and justify American intervention in the South China Sea — something the U.S. has no legal basis to get involved in.

But here’s the funniest part…

In your 13-page testimony filled with dramatic storytelling and cartoon villain portrayals, the only moment with real emotional passion is when you talk about a Filipina you’re trying to discredit. ME

You even took screenshots, Ray.

That’s adorable.

Honestly?

Keep doing it.

Make me more famous than I already am.

Mention me in the next Senate hearing, the Pentagon briefing, or the next Stratcom newsletter.

Because each time you do, Ray, you reveal exactly what you fear:

Voices like mine — independent, critical, unbought, and unafraid of Washington — threaten your script.

And that, Ray, is your problem.

Not mine.

Final Message to Ray Powell

Ray, my friend, darling… sweetheart…

You can twist narratives.

You can write your “gray-zone” fan fiction.

You can call me whatever label your handlers find convenient.

But you cannot shake the truth:

**The U.S. is not a claimant in the SCS.

The U.S. is not a signatory to UNCLOS.

The U.S. does not own the region.

And your attempts to smear Filipinos who advocate peace and diplomacy only show how desperate you’ve become.

So yes — mention me again. Please! Do it!

IT’S A BADGE OF HONOR!!!!

Because while you operate from Washington or sometimes in Manila, I stand grounded in Southeast Asia — connected to my people, to my region, to my truth, and on the right side of history.

Now run along, Ray.

Some of us actually work for peace, not provocation.

In any case, I wish you all the best, darling Ray,

Prof. Anna Malindog-Uy

   

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