Welcome back to The Restricted Handling Podcast! Today’s episode dives straight into one of the most jaw-dropping geopolitical spectacles we’ve seen in years. On September 5, 2025, the world watched Beijing transform into the center stage of a new era of power politics. Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong-un—yes, that lineup—stood shoulder to shoulder at a massive Chinese military parade, and the images screamed one thing: the world order is shifting, and it’s shifting fast.

We break down exactly what went down in Beijing and why it matters. Kim Jong-un left town with a diplomatic win in his back pocket—no more talk of denuclearization from China. That’s a game-changer. Putin, meanwhile, used the moment to thank Kim for sending thousands of North Korean troops to fight (and die) in Ukraine. And Xi? He orchestrated the whole week like a director pulling together an all-star cast to show the world who’s in charge.

But it wasn’t just about parades and handshakes. China showed off its CJ-1000 hypersonic cruise missile, designed to blow past missile defenses at blistering speeds. We get into what makes this weapon so dangerous, and why Guam, the U.S. Navy, and America’s Pacific footprint should be paying attention. At the same time, the United States was busy countering with its own moves—rolling the NMESIS anti-ship missile system onto Okinawa and integrating the deadly LRASM onto the P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft. Translation: the first island chain just got a lot more lethal for any Chinese ship thinking about pushing through.

We also cover China’s coastal buildup across from Taiwan—new amphibious bases, hardened fuel depots, helipads, and dual-use mega-airports that can flip to military operations overnight. The message from Beijing is clear: they’re building the logistics to sustain a Taiwan fight. And in the South China Sea, tensions are as hot as ever, with Chinese ships shadowing U.S., Philippine, Australian, and Canadian drills inside Manila’s own waters.

From NATO warnings that China’s shipyards are leaving the West in the dust, to Chinese research ships creeping around Alaska, and even Saudi Arabia learning that Chinese laser weapons don’t play well with sandstorms—this episode has it all. We wrap up with that hot-mic moment where Xi and Putin casually chatted about living to 150, reminding us that these guys are planning to stick around for a very long time.

It’s hard-hitting, it’s fast-paced, and yes—we’ll even throw in a few laughs at Beijing and Moscow’s expense. Tune in now and get the full breakdown of the week’s most important developments in China, North Korea, Russia, and the Indo-Pacific.