Batanes Dispute: The Philippines’ military urged China’s embassy and Beijing’s foreign ministry to publicly reject claims by Chinese scholars that Batanes is part of Taiwan, warning silence could let the idea harden into an official position. Transnational Repression Law: U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill to raise penalties for foreign agents who threaten people on U.S. soil, citing Beijing’s ethnic unity law and fears of overseas intimidation. Ethnic Unity Law Backlash: A Hong Kong diaspora coalition condemned China’s Ethnic Unity and Progress Law for extraterritorial reach and school/parent obligations, saying it targets communities at home and abroad. Religious Prisoner Release: Freedom House said Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, detained for nearly nine months, has been released, while urging China to free other detained Zion Church members and political prisoners. South China Sea: India reiterated that disputes must be settled peacefully under UNCLOS, while legal experts in Hong Kong denounced the “South China Sea arbitration award” as politically manipulated and void. AI + Robotics Push: China is leaning into robotics as a core 15th Five-Year Plan theme, with the 2026 World AI Conference in Shanghai set to showcase new hardware. Typhoon Bavi: Flooding and evacuations in northeast China topped 260,000 as heavy rain continued, disrupting transport and schools. Helium Export Ban: China’s temporary helium export halt is raising new risks for global chip and high-tech supply chains. Semiconductor IPO Watch: CXMT set IPO terms for Shanghai’s STAR Market, aiming for about 57.9 billion yuan before any over-allotment. Auto Market Signals: Hainan plans to ban sales of combustion-engine cars by 2030, while China’s used-car market shows resilience as policies and trade-in support boost circulation.