This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong readers now get 50% off their first year of subscription until September 21, 2025. Hong Kong’s weather forecaster has called on members of the public to seek safe shelters as violent gusts…
By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) -China spent $21 billion on military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, the East and South China Sea and the Western Pacific last year, nearly 40% higher than 2023, according to Taiwan government estimates based on its tracking of aircraft and ships and working out the cost of…
By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) -China spent $21 billion on military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, the East and South China Sea and the Western Pacific last year, nearly 40% higher than 2023, according to Taiwan government estimates based on its tracking of aircraft and ships and working out the cost of…
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia and the United States began annual joint military exercises on Monday together with forces from a dozen other countries, as the U.S. pushes its allies to take threats from China more seriously. Hosted by the Indonesian National Armed Forces, this year’s Super Garuda Shield focused on strengthening regional ties in…
Research expedition members deploy China’s self-developed Haiqin, a 6,000-meter deep-sea remotely operated vehicle (ROV), onboard ship Zhong Shan Da Xue, in the South China Sea, Aug. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong) China’s domestically developed Haiqin, a remotely operated vehicle capable of diving 6,000 meters, has successfully concluded a scientific expedition in the South China Sea, according…
The People’s Liberation Army is arguably the world’s most rapidly evolving military, yet it remains the least understood by outsiders. The PLA has not engaged in a war in more than four decades and has left no footprint in actual combat in that time, but the intensity of its exercises and expansion of its arsenal…
Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China warns US over military build-up as warships head towards Venezuela As US destroyers closed in on Venezuela’s coast, China condemned Washington’s military build-up and warned against foreign interference,…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Vietnam has significantly expanded island-building work in areas it claims in the Spratly Islands chain of the disputed South China Sea and will match and likely surpass the scale of such activity there by China, a U.S. think tank reported on Friday. Recent satellite imagery showed that since the start of this year,…
When Chinese President Xi Jinping set 2049 as the year the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would match or surpass US military power, the choice was symbolic. The date marks the 100th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China and reflects Xi’s pledge of “national rejuvenation” through economic, technological and military strength. In Xi’s worldview, the…
A new tiltrotor aircraft has appeared in China and is already undergoing flight testing — the first of its kind to take to the air in that country, at least that we know about. While the program remains generally mysterious, it’s further evidence of growing Chinese interest in this class of aircraft. Although previous similar…