Get ready for another high-octane ride on The Restricted Handling Podcast! In this episode, we dive headfirst into the hottest developments out of China and across the Indo-Pacific, with a mix of strategic seriousness and a little pop culture punch to keep things lively. 

We kick things off in the Taiwan Strait, where tensions are dialed up to eleven. Taiwan’s National Day is right around the corner, and everyone’s wondering: will Beijing roll out another round of large-scale military drills like last year? The PLA is already flooding the skies and seas with jets and warships, and new satellite imagery reveals China has expanded its creepy “mock Taipei” training site to practice strikes on government buildings. It’s basically a Hollywood movie set—except instead of filming blockbusters, they’re rehearsing decapitation strikes. Taiwan, meanwhile, is bulking up its defenses with Patriot missiles, NASAMS, and Stingers to make sure the real capital is no easy target. 

From Taiwan, we sail south to the Scarborough Shoal, where Manila is drawing a hard red line. China’s talking about turning the disputed reef into a “nature reserve,” but the Philippines isn’t buying it. Their military brass calls it a pretext for occupation and promises not to let Scarborough turn into another Mischief Reef, where Beijing built a base in the 1990s. Add to that the discovery of a 12-foot Chinese underwater drone near Palawan, and it’s clear: China’s not just fishing for clams out there. 

Meanwhile, the big steel is on parade. Satellite imagery caught two Chinese aircraft carriers—the Shandong and the Fujian—sitting side by side at Yulin Naval Base. The Fujian, with its electromagnetic catapults and new-gen fighters, is the crown jewel of China’s naval ambitions. The U.S. carrier George Washington is on the move too, heading out from Yokosuka, Japan, for a Pacific patrol. The message is unmistakable: both sides want to be seen and heard. 

But it’s not just about ships and shoals. Beijing is trying to lock down global leverage in other ways—like rare earths. Reports suggest China is in early talks with Malaysia to build a refinery, handing over processing tech in exchange for access to ore deposits. If that happens, Malaysia becomes one of the only places with both Chinese and non-Chinese rare-earth processing, and that could send shockwaves through supply chains that feed everything from smartphones to fighter jets. 

We’ll also hit Europe, where Finland and Norway are raising alarms over Chinese-controlled data cables and drones near NATO bases. Plus, we’ll talk about China’s brand-new prototype missile shield, its growing U.N. peacekeeping presence, and its crackdown on massive scam networks in Myanmar. 

It’s a packed episode—carriers, cables, rare earths, missile shields, and some serious geopolitical shadowboxing. Strap in and let’s go.