China’s making headlines again — and not the peaceful kind. In today’s episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast, we dive into the chaos swirling around Beijing’s latest global power plays — espionage, economic coercion, and military muscle-flexing. If you thought yesterday’s news was wild, today’s developments crank the tension up to eleven.

The diplomatic brawl between China and Japan over Taiwan has gone nuclear — metaphorically, for now. After Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi doubled down on her comments about defending Taiwan, Beijing’s throwing every kind of punch it can. We’re talking a total seafood ban, over 540,000 canceled flights, and a propaganda storm calling Japan “a danger to peace.” Meanwhile, Japan’s response? Calm, collected, and backed by its biggest defense budget in modern history. Add in the U.S. flying B-1B bombers with Japanese F-35s over the East China Sea, and it’s clear this standoff isn’t cooling down anytime soon.

But that’s not all. Two of China’s aircraft carriers — the Fujian and Shandong — were just spotted operating together for the first time, conducting joint drills off Hainan Island. The Fujian’s cutting-edge electromagnetic catapult system is front and center, launching fighters like it’s auditioning for the next Top Gun movie. Meanwhile, in the South China Sea, China’s still fuming over joint naval drills between the U.S., Japan, and the Philippines — accusing them of “colluding with external forces.” Translation: Beijing’s nerves are showing.

Over in Taiwan, that espionage story we broke yesterday just got darker. Authorities confirmed the Chinese agent detained — a Hong Kong national named Ding — had been personally recruiting active and retired Taiwanese officers for years. It’s not just remote hacking anymore — Beijing’s physically planting operatives on the island. Taiwan’s tightening its defenses, boosting counterintelligence, and sending a clear message: not today, not ever.

And while all that’s happening, China’s global influence game is still running full throttle. The Netherlands just paused its state control of chipmaker Nexperia after “constructive talks” with Beijing. In London, the MI5 alert naming Chinese spies using LinkedIn as headhunters has Parliament on lockdown. And in Zambia, Premier Li Qiang’s visit is sealing new Belt and Road deals even as Western nations rush to keep up.

We connect every dot — from China’s $2.1 trillion global spending spree to U.S. warnings about Beijing’s grip on supply chains. It’s spies, seafood, and supersonic bombers — all in one fast, sharp, no-fluff episode.

If you want to understand how China’s rewriting the rules of 21st-century power — from your grocery store to your newsfeed to your next vacation — this is the episode you don’t skip.

Listen now to RH 11.19.25 | China: Spies, Seafood Bans, and Bomber Runs — where global strategy meets raw reality, and every headline tells a story bigger than it looks.