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China is back at the center of the board, and this episode of The Restricted Handling Daily Intel Brief has everything: Trump and Xi trying to smile through strategic competition, Taiwan sitting in the danger zone, Beijing testing the Pratas Islands, Myanmar's rare earth fight heating up, and a former US Air Force pilot accused of helping train Chinese military aviators. Casual Monday, right?

In this May 25, 2026 brief, Ryan and Glenn break down the most important China and Indo-Pacific developments shaping US national security, international security, intelligence, diplomacy, and great power competition. The episode opens with the big strategic picture: US-China relations are getting a softer public tone after President Donald Trump's Beijing summit with Xi Jinping, but the underlying contest is still very real. Taiwan remains the central pressure point, especially as Taipei signals it would welcome a direct Trump call with President Lai Ching-te, something that would be historically significant and guaranteed to get Beijing's attention.

The episode also dives into China's gray-zone activity near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands, where a Chinese Coast Guard ship sparked a tense sovereignty exchange with Taiwan's Coast Guard. The details matter, but the bigger point matters more: Beijing keeps applying pressure below the threshold of war while keeping diplomatic optics polished at the top.

From there, the brief moves into the strategic fight over rare earths in Myanmar, where the junta is pushing into Kachin, Chin, and Karen states. Kachin State is especially important because mining belts near the Chinese border produce a major share of the world's heavy rare earths, critical for electric vehicles, wind turbines, defense technology, and advanced manufacturing. This is where civil war, supply chains, and Chinese strategic interests all collide.

Ryan and Glenn also cover the Gerald Eddie Brown case, involving a former US Air Force major accused of providing unauthorized training to Chinese military pilots. That story opens a window into Beijing's alleged pursuit of Western military aviation expertise, tactics, training culture, and operational know-how.

The brief rounds out with Diego Garcia and Indo-Pacific basing politics, China's Shenzhou-23 space mission carrying Hong Kong's first astronaut, the deadly Shanxi coal mine disaster, and Beijing's continued promotion of the China-Pakistan "ironclad brotherhood" through Belt and Road projects, Gwadar port, satellites, hydropower, and infrastructure.

If you track China, Taiwan, rare earths, US-China competition, the Indo-Pacific, military intelligence, strategic basing, or Beijing's global influence campaigns, this episode is your fast, punchy, no-fluff way to get ahead of the day.

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