In December 2025, a four-ship People’s Liberation Army Navy task group - including an amphibious assault ship capable of carrying 1,000 Marines and 30 helicopters - tracked southeast through the Western Pacific, passing through waters near Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands. Australia scrambled surveillance aircraft. Pacific Island leaders said almost nothing publicly. Most of the world barely noticed.

Our guest noticed - because she was there. Ambassador Laura Stone just retired as the US Ambassador to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, capping a distinguished Foreign Service career that included multiple tours in Beijing and serving as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for China. She joins hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso to explain why this naval activity matters far more than the headlines suggest.

In this epi ...