China's military exercises in South China Sea respond to Philippine provocations “China’s training exercises serve as a serious warning against violations and provocations by the Philippine side. These are necessary and legitimate measures to safeguard China’s sovereignty and rights of Huangyan Dao,” said a Chinese defense spokesperson on August 7, 2026. It's reported that after the Philippines deposited its so-called official nautical chart of Huangyan Dao and its surrounding maritime zones with the UN, the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command conducted joint exercises in the territorial waters and airspace of Huangyan Dao as well as its surrounding areas. The China Coast Guard also carried out law-enforcement training in relevant waters. The spokesperson for the Philippine National Maritime Council claimed that any drills conducted by the Chinese side in this area are deemed illegal. In response to the reports, a Chinese defense spokesperson stressed at a press briefing on Friday that Huangyan Dao is China's inherent territory. China has continuously, peacefully and effectively exercised sovereignty and jurisdiction over the island, and is the only country entitled by international law to declare the baselines of the territorial sea of Huangyan Dao. The spokesperson pointed out that relevant actions of the Philippine side seriously violated China's territorial sovereignty, international law and the basic norms of international relations. “They are illegal, null and void,” stressed the spokesperson. The spokesperson added that since its independence in 1946, the Philippines has expanded its claims of territory and jurisdictional waters through domestic legislation under the banner of international law. Its behavior has led to wide wariness, dissatisfaction and strong opposition from other littoral countries surrounding the South China Sea. “We urge the Philippine side to immediately stop its illegitimate acts violating China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and stop its provocations and propaganda. The Chinese military will take firm and effective countermeasures against any provocative attempts to stir up troubles in the South China Sea,” stressed the spokesperson. #Philippines# #Troublemaker# #Provocation# #HuangyanDao# #HuangyanIsland# #SouthChinaSea# #PLA# #CCG# #ChinaCoastGuard# #MilitaryExercise# #MilitaryDrill# #ChinaMilitary# #ChinaMilBugle#

A Chinese defense spokesperson on Tuesday refuted contents related to the Chinese military in Japan's new defense white paper, noting that it is hyping up the so-called "China threat" rhetoric, which merely serves as an excuse for Japan to ease restrictions on its own military buildup. In response to a relevant media query, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense said Japan's false accusations against China are a classic case of "a thief crying 'stop thief.'" He expressed China's strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the white paper. The remarks came after Japan's Defense Ministry released its "Defense of Japan 2026," which described China's military activities as Japan's "greatest strategic challenge ever." The report also criticized Chinese military activities in areas around the Taiwan region and portrayed an increasingly severe regional security environment. The spokesperson dismissed the white paper as being "filled with false narratives," saying Japan was using security concerns as a pretext to remove long-standing restraints on its military. According to the spokesperson, Japan's ruling authorities have accelerated the revision of the country's three key security documents, continuously increasing defense spending, expanding long-range strike capabilities, and attempting to embed military expansion into its national institutions, industries and public opinion. The spokesperson warned that Japan's "new militarism" has become a serious challenge to the postwar international order and the real threat to regional peace and stability. The spokesperson also reiterated that the Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and matters to the political foundation of the relations between China and Japan. "We urge Japan to earnestly reflect on its history of aggression, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, stop misleading the Japanese public and the international community, and refrain from going further down the wrong path of remilitarization," the spokesperson said.  #DefenseofJapan2026# #defensewhitepaper# #Japansremilitarization# #JapaneseNeoMilitarism# #YasukuniShrine# #JapaneseMilitarism# #Militarism# #ShinjiroKoizumi# #Koizumi# #NeoMilitarism# #Japan# #TakaichiSanae# #Sanae# #Takaichi# #SanaeTakaichi# #高市早苗#

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday slammed the Philippine defense department’s statement issued on July 31 as a political provocation of an extremely malign nature. This so-called statement is full of disinformation and smears designed to interfere in China's internal affairs, said spokesperson Lin Jian, adding China firmly opposes it. Lin said that the facts are crystal clear for all to see. A small handful of anti-China forces in the Philippines have engaged in massive political and public opinion manipulation, trying every means to mix right and wrong, in order to seek selfish political gains and cover up the Philippines' infringement activities at sea. "Their attempts will not succeed," said Lin, adding that this small handful of individuals cooked up this so-called statement, issued in the name of a governmental department, to take hostage and disrupt China-Philippines relations in violation of the Philippines' commitments made in recent diplomatic communication. "We once again urge these individuals to stop making provocations and creating trouble, and stop attacking and smearing China. Otherwise, they will bear the consequence for their despicable acts," said the spokesperson. "We'd like to stress once again that the implementation of the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law provides better protection for all ethnic groups' lawful rights and interests, and will serve as a solid legal safeguard for the cause of ethnic unity and progress," Lin added. #Philippines# #Baselines# #HuangyanDao# #HuangyanIsland# #RenaiJiao# #RenaiReef# #SouthChinaSea# #UNCLOS# #DOC# #SouthChinaSeaarbitration# #NanshaIslands# #NanshaQundao# #ZhongshaIslands# #ZhongshaQundao# #ChinaMilitary# #ChinaMilBugle#

Japan's new defense white paper seen as laying groundwork for military expansion Japan's Defense Ministry released Tuesday its "Defense of Japan 2026," which continued to portray an "increasingly severe" regional security environment, in an effort to pave the way for revising the country's three key security documents by the end of this year and accelerating its military buildup. The white paper, presented to the cabinet on the day by Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, retained the wording of the 2025 edition, claiming that the international community is facing its greatest challenge since World War II and has entered a "new era of crisis." The roughly 600-page report also continued to label China as Japan's "greatest strategic challenge ever," making unwarranted criticisms and deliberately hyping up China's routine military activities and legitimate national defense development, while wantonly distorting the Chinese military's necessary actions to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also outlined the security policies pursued by the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. In March, Japan deployed its land-based Type 25 anti-ship missile in Kumamoto Prefecture. With an upgraded 1,000 km-range, the missile far exceeds the country's territorial defense requirements and possesses clear offensive capabilities, marking Japan's first deployment of long-range missiles with "counterstrike capabilities." According to the white paper, Japan will further expand such capabilities by developing air-launched and ship-launched variants of the Type 25 missile, advancing research on hypersonic missiles, and introducing foreign-made stand-off missiles. Compared with previous editions, the new report includes a standalone section on "new forms of warfare" and expands coverage of efforts to strengthen Japan's defense production and technological base. It highlights the growing role of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence in military operations and states that both government and private-sector technological capabilities should be more actively utilized in the field of national security. Analysts said that by playing up threats in regional security and emphasizing the transformation of combat systems and the expansion of the defense industry in its new white paper, the Japanese government aims to pave the way for revising its three key security documents before the end of the year and further advancing the country's military expansion. #DefenseofJapan2026# #defensewhitepaper# #ShinjiroKoizumi# #Koizumi# #SanaeTakaichi# #Takaichi# #Japansremilitarization# #Chinamilitary# #ChinaMilBugle#

Air Cavalry: Photos show multiple types of helicopters including Z-8, Z-10, Z-19 and Z-20 attached to a Chinese PLA Army brigade conducting multi-subject training exercise, featuring low-altitude penetration and fast-roping assault, honing rapid deployment capabilities. #Z8# #Z10# #Z19# #Z20# #PLA# #ArmyAviation# #ChinaMilitary# #ChinaMilBugle#

One rocket, nine satellites! Chinese Gravity-1 rocket launches new satellites from sea China on Wednesday sent a Gravity-1 carrier rocket into space from waters off the coast of Shanghai in east China, marking a complete success for this flight test mission. The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center launched the commercial rocket at 10:54 a.m. (Beijing Time), placing nine satellites into their designated orbits. This flight marks Gravity-1's first open-sea launch and China's first commercial sea-based launch in the East China Sea off the Yangtze River Delta. Unrestricted by fixed maritime zones, the mobile launch platform allows for flexible site selection, enhancing launch efficiency and promoting a diversified layout for China's space launch capabilities. Project officials noted that the mission further verified the adaptability of the rocket model's solid-strap-on configuration to complex sea conditions and its extended standby capability. Developed by the Chinese commercial aerospace company, OrienSpace, the medium-lift Gravity-1 has a low-Earth-orbit payload capacity of 6.5 tonnes and is capable of delivering a 4.2-tonne payload to a 500-km sun-synchronous orbit, catering to various multi-satellite deployment missions. The deployed satellites will serve diverse purposes, ranging from all-weather Earth observation and commercial industry services to technical test. #Gravity1# #ChinaSpace# #SatelliteLaunch# #TaiyuanSatelliteLaunchCenter# #SpaceNews# #RocketLaunch# #YangtzeRiverDelta#

China Coast Guard Expels a Japanese Boat Intruding into the Territorial Waters of China’s Chiwei Yu On July 7, Japanese fishing boat Zuihou Maru intruded into the territorial waters of China's Chiwei Yu. China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels took necessary measures to warn and expel it in accordance with the law, said Jiang Lue, spokesperson for the CCG on Tuesday. Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands are China's inherent territory. We urge the Japanese side to immediately stop all rights-violation and provocative acts in relevant waters. The CCG will continue to conduct rights-protection and law-enforcement operations in the territorial waters of Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands, and safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. #ChinaCoastGuard# #CCG# #ZuihouMaru# #瑞宝丸# #Japan# #DiaoyuDao# #DiaoyuIsland# #ChinaMilBugle# #ChinaMilitary#

The Chinese PLA Navy's test launch of a strategic missile by a submarine was a routine arrangement of China’s annual military training. It was not targeted at any specific country or target. China notified relevant countries in advance, which is in line with international practice. The launch activity was conducted in a safe, standardized and professional manner throughout. "We hope relevant countries will not over-interpret it," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Monday at a daily press briefing after being asked to comment on Chinese PLA Navy's test launch of a strategic missile by a submarine earlier the same day. #PLA# #Navy# #StrategicMissileTest# #Submarine# #JL3# #JL2# #PacificOcean# #StrategicNuclearSubmarine# #SSBN# #SubmarineLaunchedMissile# #SLBM# #潜射战略导弹# #ChinaMilitary# #ChinaMilBugle#