Welcome back to The Restricted Handling Podcast! This episode dives straight into the most important moves coming out of China this week—geopolitics, military shows of force, high-stakes tech battles, and a global economic pivot that’s reshaping alliances.

First up, Beijing isn’t just talking the talk—it’s strutting it. Xi Jinping launched the Global Governance Initiative at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, pitching it as a shiny new alternative to U.S. global leadership. With Putin, Lukashenko, Sharif, and Maduro cheering him on, this wasn’t just about diplomacy—it was a show of bloc power. And as if that wasn’t enough, Xi rolled straight into an over-the-top military parade with Putin and Kim Jong Un at his side, showcasing nuclear missiles, submarine drones, and even a directed-energy weapon.

Then we hit the undersea race. China’s submarine fleet is growing quieter, deadlier, and bigger by the month. The Type 095 is on the way, conventional Yuan-class boats are more capable than ever, and underwater drones are joining the fight. Meanwhile, the U.S. still has better subs but can’t build enough of them, thanks to shipyard bottlenecks and maintenance backlogs. The Pacific’s turning into the ultimate underwater chessboard.

Back in Taiwan, it’s a grind. Coast Guard incursions near Kinmen, oil platforms popping up in contested waters, and 300+ PLA flights into Taiwan’s ADIZ every month. Taipei is pushing back with new drone programs, U.S. defense innovation partnerships, and plans for joint production. Across the water, Japan is dropping a record-shattering defense budget request and the U.S. Army is deploying the Typhon missile system to Japan for the first time. Beijing and Moscow are not amused.

On the trade and tech front, the FCC is moving against Chinese labs, Congress is gunning for a DJI ban, and U.S. industries that rely on cheap, reliable drones are bracing for impact. Meanwhile, China is pivoting its exports to Africa—solar panels, EVs, batteries, steel, machinery—and racking up a $60 billion surplus in 2025 alone. African imports of Chinese solar tech are booming as prices collapse.

And just to round things out: North Korea plays wingman in Beijing, Russia sneaks in sanctioned LNG, China faces its hottest summer on record, and Beijing is hyping humanoid robots to care for its rapidly aging population.

This episode covers it all—China’s nukes, subs, drones, and Africa deals—with the sharp edge and fun energy.

Welcome back to The Restricted Handling Podcast — Russia just unleashed its largest air assault since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, hitting Ukraine with over 800 drones and 13 missiles in a single night. For the first time, Kyiv’s Cabinet of Ministers building took a direct hit from an Iskander ballistic missile, a symbolic and dangerous escalation aimed right at Ukraine’s center of power. Ukrainian defenses managed to shoot most of it down, but not before lives were lost and the capital burned.

At the same time, the Kremlin is turning its rhetoric against NATO itself. Dmitry Medvedev dusted off the old Soviet-style propaganda and threatened Finland with nothing less than the “collapse of statehood.” Yep, Russia is now using the same bogus justifications it once used for invading Ukraine and pointing them northward. If that doesn’t send chills across Europe, nothing will.

Meanwhile in Washington, Donald Trump says he’s finally ready to escalate sanctions on Russia. But Moscow shrugged it off, with Peskov calling Western sanctions “absolutely useless.” So what’s real? Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says coordinated U.S.-EU sanctions could actually crash Russia’s war economy—if Europe steps up on secondary sanctions against Moscow’s lifelines like India and China.

And speaking of China, Beijing is sending mixed signals. On one hand, Chinese regulators may let Russian energy firms issue yuan-denominated “panda bonds” for the first time in years, a financial lifeline for Putin. On the other hand, Chinese exports to Russia just dropped 16%, the sharpest fall since February, showing Beijing is nervous about overexposure.

We also break down Russia’s quiet military adaptations:

• Cranking out 50,000 fiber-optic drones a month that jam-proof Ukrainian defenses.

• Conserving armored vehicles for a possible big autumn offensive.

• Rolling out its Borei-A nuclear submarine Emperor Alexander III in the Pacific to flex ahead of New START’s 2026 expiration.

Oh, and while Russia tries to look strong abroad, Putin’s big Vladivostok economic forum was basically a flop—no China, no India, just Laos. Not exactly the “global pivot east” he was hoping for.

This episode is a mix of hard intel, battlefield updates, and some sharp analysis—delivered with the energy and edge you need to stay ahead of the curve.

Welcome back to The Restricted Handling Podcast! Today’s episode, “RH 9.8.25 | China, Putin & Kim Parade, Taiwan Strait Tensions, Tariff Pain, Scamland Myanmar”, dives into one of the busiest weeks in global geopolitics—where Beijing is center stage and everyone else is reacting.

We kick off with the striking image from Beijing: Xi Jinping flanked by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, waving to crowds as intercontinental ballistic missiles roll through Tiananmen Square. This isn’t just parade fanfare—it’s China flaunting its ties to Russia and North Korea, two sanctioned regimes caught in their own wars and isolation. We break down what the trio’s stage-managed moment means, why it matters, and where the cracks still show.

Next, we head to the Taiwan Strait, where the Canadian frigate Ville de Québec and Australia’s guided-missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane transited the waterway in defiance of Beijing’s claims. The PLA shadowed them with ships and jets, blasting the move as “provocative.” We’ll unpack what this signals about growing allied presence in the Indo-Pacific and why China’s attempts to frame the strait as its territory keep hitting resistance.

On the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are squeezing Beijing hard. Exports to the U.S. plunged 33% in August, while overall growth slowed. China is scrambling to lock in an ASEAN free trade upgrade and to pitch itself as a more “open” economy. Meanwhile, at Europe’s biggest auto show, Volkswagen and Stellantis complained about the double hit of tariffs and Chinese EV competition. Beijing may be hurting in Washington’s markets, but in Southeast Asia and Europe it’s pressing advantages.

We then cover Beijing’s global reach: the Chinese Navy’s hospital ship Silk Road Ark has embarked on a 220-day deployment across the South Pacific, Caribbean, and Latin America. Officially it’s a humanitarian mission, but strategically it plants the PLA Navy squarely in America’s backyard. This is soft-power competition with teeth.

Finally, we dive into one of the darker stories: Myanmar’s explosion as the global hub for cyberfraud. Scam compounds along the Thai border now employ more than 200,000 trafficked laborers, scamming victims worldwide and fueling a humanitarian disaster. It’s a fusion of organized crime, forced labor, and cyberthreats with global reach.