Strap in for a high-octane ride through the Indo-Pacific as The Restricted Handling Podcast takes you deep inside China’s latest power plays—on land, at sea, in the air, and across the cyber domain. In this episode, we’re breaking down Beijing’s bold reveal of its J-35 stealth fighter production line, the secretive intelligence front companies feeding China’s cyber warfare machine, and the rising tension stretching from the Taiwan Strait to the South China Sea.

We start with China’s stunning move to throw open the hangar doors at Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, giving the world its first look at the J-35 and J-35A—fifth-generation stealth jets designed to challenge America’s F-35 dominance. Think of it as Beijing’s “Top Gun moment,” but with more robotic arms and less Kenny Loggins. This wasn’t just a PR stunt; it was a message. China’s ready to mass-produce stealth fighters, deploy them from its new Fujian carrier, and flex its growing technological muscle.

But the story doesn’t stop at shiny new aircraft. We dive into the shadowy world of BIETA—the Beijing Institute of Electronics Technology and Application—recently outed as a front for China’s Ministry of State Security. BIETA and its partner CIII develop cyber tools, penetration-testing software, and covert communication platforms for the MSS. In short, they’re the quiet architects behind Beijing’s digital spy empire, turning academic research into cyber arsenals.

Meanwhile, China’s global assertiveness is creating turbulence everywhere. Premier Li Qiang is jetting off to Pyongyang to celebrate with Kim Jong Un and Dmitry Medvedev, as Beijing, Moscow, and North Korea tighten their political and military ties. The U.S., Japan, and the Philippines aren’t sitting idle—Washington just reaffirmed its 74-year-old defense treaty with Manila, promising to defend Philippine vessels “anywhere in the South China Sea.”

We also unpack Taiwan’s latest confrontations—from chasing off Chinese ships near Pratas Island to President Lai Ching-te daring Xi Jinping to drop the threat of invasion. And if that wasn’t enough action, we’ve got Chinese jets buzzing Canadian patrol aircraft, illegal fishing boats playing tag with the Korean Coast Guard, and Beijing throwing diplomatic elbows at the European Union over Taiwan’s status.

This episode has it all: stealth jets, spy fronts, air standoffs, and cyber espionage. It’s equal parts Mission: Impossible and House of Cards, with a dash of Cold War déjà vu. If you want to know where the next flashpoint could ignite, you’ll find it right here.

Tune in now—because when China starts opening its hangars and flexing its networks, the whole world should be paying attention.

Buckle up, because this episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast dives straight into one of the most intense 24-hour cycles in global security this year. Russia is flexing hard, Europe’s nerves are fraying, and Ukraine just delivered one of its deepest strikes inside Russian territory yet — all while Washington, Brussels, and Tehran make moves that could reshape the next phase of the war.

We start with Moscow’s latest stunt: Russia is rolling out “Phase Zero” — the information and psychological groundwork for a potential future conflict with NATO. The Kremlin’s Foreign Intelligence Service is spinning up wild claims that the U.K. is planning a false-flag naval attack using pro-Ukrainian Russians and Chinese-made underwater drones (yes, really). The point isn’t truth — it’s chaos. Between these bizarre accusations and a wave of drone sightings over Germany, Norway, and Denmark, Russia’s turning Europe into a stress test for hybrid warfare.

Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev is back on Telegram acting like an end-of-the-world villain, threatening that Europeans should “feel the danger of war.” Germany’s closing airports, Britain’s jamming its satellites, and the EU just voted to restrict Russian diplomats’ movement after a surge in espionage and sabotage ops across the continent. Europe’s waking up — and Moscow’s clearly nervous about it.

Over in Ukraine, Kyiv’s hitting back with precision and pride. On Vladimir Putin’s birthday, no less, Ukrainian drones flew 2,000 kilometers inside Russia to strike the Tyumen Oil Refinery — one of the deepest and boldest attacks of the war. Add in massive hits on the Sverdlov explosives plant and the Feodosia oil terminal in occupied Crimea, and it’s clear Ukraine’s drone campaign is rewriting modern warfare.

The United States, meanwhile, is playing the “wait and see” game. President Trump said he’s “sort of made a decision” on whether to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles but doesn’t want to “escalate the war.” Translation: the world’s watching how far Kyiv’s reach will go without Washington’s green light.

And if that wasn’t enough, a leaked deal shows Iran planning to buy forty-eight Su-35 fighter jets from Russia — the biggest arms sale Moscow’s pulled off since the invasion began. The axis of sanctions is alive and well, and it’s arming up.

It’s hybrid warfare, energy disruption, espionage, and psychological chess — all playing out in real time. This episode breaks it down with intensity, wit, and a bit of swagger.

Buckle up — this episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast dives straight into China’s latest global power plays, and it’s a wild mix of espionage, tech warfare, and high-flying ambition. From satellites hovering over Ukraine to secret oil deals with Iran, Beijing is rewriting the playbook for 21st-century power — and doing it with stealth (literally and figuratively).

We start with breaking developments in Ukraine, where Chinese reconnaissance satellites allegedly helped Russia refine its missile targets. That’s right — those “scientific research” satellites may have been moonlighting as battlefield scouts, feeding Moscow intel in real-time. It’s the kind of quiet cooperation that blurs the line between neutrality and alliance, and it could mark a new phase in how China engages in proxy conflicts.

Then, we head to the Persian Gulf to uncover Beijing’s covert financial choreography. You’ll hear how China built a hidden payment network to buy Iranian oil without ever touching the global banking system. The system involves a secretive financial entity called Chuxin, state-owned insurer Sinosure, and a cast of shell companies — all working to funnel billions through a “construction-for-crude” barter scheme. It’s economic espionage meets creative accounting, and it’s keeping Tehran afloat while giving China a front-row seat in the Middle East energy game.

From there, we fly to the Philippines — now ground zero in Beijing’s digital and human intelligence war. Chinese nationals have been arrested for espionage after allegedly using drones and LiDAR scanners to map U.S.-aligned military bases. At the same time, Chinese-funded social media operations are spreading pro-Beijing propaganda online, targeting Philippine audiences with fake accounts and influencer-style disinformation. It’s a hybrid war fought through Wi-Fi and whispers — and it’s turning Manila into one of the hottest pressure points in the Indo-Pacific.

But that’s not all. This episode also explores China’s internal machinery of control — from Xi Jinping’s latest white paper on “governing Xinjiang” to new reports exposing a massive digital surveillance network in Tibet. Combine that with China’s newest stealth fighters — the J-20 and J-35 — rolling off production lines, and it’s clear Beijing is building power on every front: military, economic, and digital.

If you want to understand how China’s playing the long game — from the skies above Ukraine to the firewalls of Tibet — this is the episode you can’t miss.