Southeast Asia Watch

Chinese lander reveals giant ‘cavity’ of radiation between Earth and the moon — and it could change how lunar exploration is done– www.livescience.com

pgnewser March 26, 2026 0

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Could being a “morning person” improve your health … on the moon? Scientists have identified what appears to be a “cavity” of reduced cosmic radiation near Earth’s moon. The finding could help lower astronauts’ exposure to harmful radiation on future lunar missions by timing some surface operations for local morning hours.

The discovery, based on data from China‘s Chang’e-4 lunar lander, suggests Earth’s magnetic field may affect distances in space farther than scientists previously expected. According to the researchers, the finding challenges the long-held assumption that galactic cosmic rays are roughly uniform throughout the space between Earth and the moon outside our planet’s protective magnetic field.

How China Is Killing Oil Chokepoints While Trump And Tehran Clash Over Hormuz– www.ndtv.com

pgnewser March 25, 2026 0

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While the world fixates on the Strait of Hormuz, China is working to make the entire conversation obsolete.

Each flare up in US Iran tensions sends oil markets into overdrive, with prices swinging and supply fears dominating global narratives. But Beijing is not playing that game. It is building an alternative system designed to sidestep the very risks others are pricing in.

At the centre of this effort is State Grid Corporation of China, a sprawling network that already covers more than 80 percent of the country and powers over a billion people. Alongside China Southern Power Grid, it is constructing what increasingly looks like a long term energy power play. A nationwide supergrid meant to reduce reliance on imported oil and the fragile sea lanes that carry it. LIVE UPDATES

The blueprint is expansive. Ultra high voltage transmission lines are being rolled out at speed, linking inland regions rich in coal, wind and solar to the industrial coastline where demand is concentrated. The aim is to electrify more of the economy, move power efficiently across vast distances, and reduce exposure to external shocks.

Amendments to Hong Kong National Security Law Allow Police To Demand Device Passwords in NatSec Probes– chinadigitaltimes.net

pgnewser March 24, 2026 0

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On Monday, the Hong Kong government gazetted amendments to the implementation rules of the National Security Law that would significantly expand the powers granted to law enforcement, including the ability to compel suspects in national security investigations to reveal their device passwords under threat of fines or jail time. Hong Kong’s Legislative Council was not consulted on the changes, but the government has announced that it will provide a public briefing on Tuesday.

Despite administration claims that the new rules “will not affect the lives of the general public” and that they were implemented to address “national security risks [… that] may arise suddenly and unexpectedly,” many legal experts and human rights groups have warned that the broadly defined amendments are “open to abuse” and represent a ratcheting up of the Beijing-imposed 2020 National Security Law that has long been used to undermine democratic freedoms and crush political dissent.

At Hong Kong Free Press, Hans Tse reported on the amendments, their potential penalties, and the expansion of who can be compelled to disclose password or decryption information—including even those with a “duty of confidentiality or any other restriction on the disclosure of information,” such as journalists, doctors, and lawyers):

Under the new rules, police can require people under national security investigation to provide passwords or help decrypt their electronic devices. Failure to do so can be punished by up to one year behind bars and a HK$100,000 [$12,760 U.S.] fine.

Providing a false or misleading statement can be punished by up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$500,000 [$63,815].

Police can also compel anyone believed to know of the password or the decryption method of a device under investigation to disclose such information. Similarly, those who own, possess, control, or have authorised access to a device, as well as current or former users, can be subject to such an order.

The new rules have also empowered customs officers to freeze or confiscate assets relating to national security crimes or to forfeit “articles that have seditious intention.” [Source]

China is mapping the ocean floor as it prepares for submarine warfare with U.S.– japantoday.com

pgnewser March 24, 2026 0

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China is conducting a vast undersea mapping and monitoring operation across the Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans, building detailed knowledge of marine conditions that naval experts say would be crucial for waging submarine warfare against the United States and its allies.

In one example, the Dong Fang Hong 3, a research vessel operated by Ocean University of China, spent 2024 and 2025 sailing back and forth in the seas near Taiwan and the U.S. stronghold of Guam, and around strategic stretches of the Indian Ocean, ship-tracking data reviewed by Reuters shows. In October 2024, it checked on a set of powerful Chinese ocean sensors capable of identifying undersea objects near Japan, ‌according to Ocean University, and visited the same area again last May. And in March 2025, it criss-crossed the waters between Sri Lanka and Indonesia, covering approaches to the Malacca Strait, a critical chokepoint for maritime commerce.

China: Sichuan public security detain journalists Liu Hu and Wu Yingjiao– www.nchrd.org

pgnewser March 24, 2026 0

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On February 1, Chengdu Public Security Bureau officers detained renowned journalist Liu Hu while he was traveling to Beijing. On February 2, Liu’s family learned that Chengdu authorities had placed Liu under criminal detention on suspicion of “making false accusations” and conducting “illegal business operations,” according to Chinese-language site Rights Defense Network (RDN).

Also on February 1, Chengdu public security officers traveled over 1,300 kilometers to Hebei Province to detain Liu’s colleague, Wu Yingjiao. RDN reported that authorities could be targeting Liu and Wu over an article they published on January 29 on their WeChat public account. The article alleged abuse of power and corrupt behavior by a Sichuan county party secretary. Wu faces the same charges as Liu.

“The detentions illustrate a familiar pattern: instead of investigating allegations of official wrongdoing, Chinese authorities persecute the journalists who expose abuses,” said Shane Yi, researcher at CHRD. “Authorities should immediately release Liu and Wu, and investigate the allegations of corruption.”

Investigation opens into Neville Roy Singham allegedly pro-China network– www.foxnews.com

pgnewser March 23, 2026 0

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Washington, D.C. – Part 1 of a five-part Fox News Digital series investigation follows the money that created the “Revolutionary Base” for a transnational network of organizations allegedly waging cognitive warfare on U.S. citizens on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.

As far-left American activists flood Cuba to support its flailing communist regime, U.S. officials have opened a sprawling investigation into an anti-America, pro-China nonprofit network forged during a wedding celebration in late February 2017, off Runaway Bay on Jamaica’s northern coast.

There, beneath a canopy of palm trees, an elite cadre of activists, intellectuals, celebrities, political organizers and comrades in a global Marxist-Leninist-Maoist movement assembled to celebrate the “Revolutionary Love” of two luminaries, both 62 at the time: Neville Roy Singham, an American-born tech tycoon living in Shanghai, and Jodie Evans, a red-haired veteran activist and co-founder of CodePink Women for Peace.

Like the opening scene of “The Godfather,” where powerful families consolidate power, the wedding celebration was about much more than the union of two people.

SICK TRAITOR: Tucker Carlson Demands the US Turn Over Its Power To China, Then Blames The Jews For Standing In The Way– gellerreport.com

pgnewser March 23, 2026 0

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In an interview with Chinese “Professor” Jiang Xueqin, the two discussed the ideal new world order.

Tucker Carlson: Xueqin:  So what I would do is basically, basically sit down everyone, okay? Including Russia, China, Iran, and say, it’s time for a new world order where we are partners in this relationship. Right? Before America was a hegemon, before the US dollar was a world reserve currency. Uh, but now what we wanna do is open a dialogue where everyone is respected, where, um, America is, is no longer the bully, but a winning partner in creating a new economic order that benefits everyone and not just, and not just a few. Tucker: I, I think that’s the, the wisest possible advice and probably the only path that preserves civilization. Um, and, but they’re the one country standing in the way of that is Israel (Tucker Carlson on X).

Unsurprisingly, Tucker believes that the world would be a utopia without the Jews.

China, Pakistan Developing Nuclear Missiles That Put US Within Range Intel Chief Tulsi Gabbard– www.ndtv.com

pgnewser March 19, 2026 0

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US Intelligence Chief Tulsi Gabbard, presenting the intelligence community’s 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, said that Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan are the most significant nuclear threats to the United States.

While testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, Gabbard said, “The intelligence community assesses that Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan have been researching and developing an array of novel, advanced, or traditional missile delivery systems, with nuclear and conventional payloads, that put our homeland within range.”

Gabbard said that China and Russia are developing advanced delivery systems that are capable of penetrating or bypassing US missile defences.

“North Korea’s ICBMs can already reach US soil, and it is committed to expanding its nuclear arsenal,” she added.

DW News. . US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on a Chinese sanctions list for allegedly being a "vanguard of anti-China sentiment." But does this mean Rubio will have to sit out US President Trump's planned trip to Beijing? #dwasia – facebook.com

pgnewser March 19, 2026 0

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DW News. . US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on a Chinese sanctions list for allegedly being a “vanguard of anti-China sentiment.” But does this mean Rubio will have to sit out US President Trump’s planned trip to Beijing? #dwasia  facebook.com
from news.google.com

Takeaways from China’s National People’s Congress Meeting– warontherocks.com

pgnewser March 18, 2026 0

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From March 5 to 12, China held its annual Two Sessions — the National People’s Congress meeting and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. These gatherings provide yearly insights into China’s economic and political priorities and plans. Additionally, this year, the government presented its 15th Five-Year Plan, laying out key policies to 2030. We asked four experts to offer their key takeaways from the National People’s Congress.

Ling ChenWilliam L. Clayton Associate Professor at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins UniversityA key takeaway from China’s most recent National People’s Congress is that Beijing is trying to respond to its economic slowdown by pursuing two goals that sit uneasily together. On the one hand, the government emphasized the need to boost domestic demand and household consumption, acknowledging that weak consumer confidence and spending have become major drags on growth.

China urges US to correct ‘erroneous ways’ over trade probes ahead of Paris talks– www.france24.com

pgnewser March 16, 2026 0

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Beijing said on Monday it has “lodged representations” and urged Washington to “correct its erroneous ways” after the US launched new trade probes last week, with negotiators from both countries meeting in Paris.

Washington’s trade investigations target 60 economies including China and will look into “failures to take action on forced labor” and whether these burden or restrict US commerce.

Those investigations came a day after a separate set of US probes centred on excess industrial capacity that target 16 trading partners including China, which Beijing’s foreign ministry criticised as “political manipulation”.

“We urge the US side to immediately correct its erroneous ways, meet China halfway… and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiations,” Beijing’s commerce ministry said in a statement.

Trump-Xi China summit may be delayed if Trump wants to stay in Washington for Iran war: Bessent– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser March 16, 2026 0

Blurb:

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that the meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping could be delayed for logistical reasons during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Trump suggested on Sunday that the summit could be delayed as the U.S. pressures China to help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Bessent walked those comments back on Monday, arguing the summit would be delayed if Trump chooses to stay in Washington to coordinate the war effort in Iran.

“If the meetings are delayed, it wouldn’t be delayed because the president demanded that China police the Strait of Hormuz,” Bessent said in an interview with CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in Paris. “If the meeting, for some reason, is rescheduled, it would be rescheduled because of logistics.”

MIKE CONAWAY: As China’s Espionage Threat Widens, America Must Lock Down Its Own House– dailycaller.com

pgnewser March 13, 2026 0

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stands a respectable 5’8”, but during his recent visit to China he was — as the kids say — “mogged.”

Soldiers of the People’s Republic’s honor guard, all more than six feet tall, towered over him on both sides.

The optics were hard to miss. The empire that once humiliated China into opening its ports and surrendering Hong Kong now approached Beijing like Oliver Twist asking for more gruel.

Trump raises China stakes with Section 301 trade probe before Beijing Xi meeting– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser March 12, 2026 0

Blurb:

With a high-stakes summit in Beijing less than three weeks away, the U.S. has launched sweeping trade investigations that put China squarely in its crosshairs, adding a new layer of friction to an already complicated relationship.

The probes, which will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, aim to identify unfair trade practices, particularly structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors.

While casting a wide net over a dozen trading partners, the move takes a clear aim at China, given its well-documented issues such as overcapacity and forced labor, said Dan Wang, China director at the political consultancy Eurasia Group.

As Trump’s negotiating position has been weakened by the military aggression in Iran, “U.S. needs to establish credible threat on tariffs as it remains Trump’s top pressure tool,” Wang said, although Beijing was likely unsurprised by the escalation.

“Maximizing leverage before major bilateral meetings seems to be a standard move now,” she said.

The probes followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month to strike down Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs, which curtailed his ability to deploy tariffs at will, giving China a boost in leverage ahead of the summit.

The Trump administration is “pivoting to its other tools to continue its tariff agenda … [tariff] is clearly a card that Trump wishes to have in his pocket for negotiations,” said Lynn Song, chief economist at ING Bank.

China passes new ethnic minority law, prioritise use of Mandarin language – Reuters

pgnewser March 12, 2026 0

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China passes new ethnic minority law, prioritise use of Mandarin language  Reuters
from news.google.com

China passed a law on a “shared” national identity among the country’s 55 ethnic ‌minority groups on Thursday, a move critics say will further erode the identity of people who are not majority Han Chinese and risk making anyone challenging that “unity” a separatist punishable by law.
Called “Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress”, the ethnic minority law aims to forge national unity and advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with the ​Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at its core, a draft copy of the law showed.

Senate Examines China’s Exploits of US Birthright Citizenship– www.dailysignal.com

pgnewser March 11, 2026 0

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The Chinese Communist Party oddly found a reason to promote the U.S. Constitution, or at least an interpretation of it, journalist and author Peter Schweizer noted before a Senate panel Tuesday.

At a hearing on birthright citizenship, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., asked Schweizer if the Chinese government promotes exploiting the concept.

“They have run articles in the People’s Daily, which is the main news organ of the Communist Party, explaining that you have a constitutional right in the United States,” said Schweizer, president of the watchdog Government Accountability Institute and author of the recent book, “The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon.”

Trump administration urged to take on China’s ‘Pharma Death Grip’– www.washingtonexaminer.com

pgnewser March 11, 2026 0

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The Trump administration is being urged to tackle imported generic pharmaceuticals, most of which are made in China, due to national security implications.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, wants the Commerce Department to consider using Section 232 national security tariffs on imported generic medicines and their ingredients. Such a move would frame the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain as a national security vulnerability rather than a purely economic issue.

The push comes as policymakers recognize the United States relies heavily on China for key pharmaceutical materials, particularly the raw components of many antibiotics, while producing a small share domestically, China specialist Gordon Chang said.

“Healthcare, as evident in country after country, is best left to the market, but as China weaponizes trade—and continually threatens war—it’s clear that Washington has to temporarily implement non-market solutions to ensure that Americans have access to the medicines they need,” he wrote in a paper published on Conservative Political Action Conference’s website titled “China’s ‘Pharma Death Grip’ on America.”