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China's military weapons

China's military weapons
Latest news, features and opinion on the military in China, including the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the development of warships, aircraft carriers and fighter jets, spending on the armed forces and reforms and modernisation. US-China and mainland-Taiwan military tensions and the deployment of China’s armed forces overseas are also covered.
Open Questions series

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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15
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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93
Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
The Type 25 Hypervelocity Gliding Projectile (HGP) is the Japanese forces’ first hypersonic missile. Photo: Japan Ground Self-Defence Force
China-Japan relations

Chinese navy arrives in Sea of Japan just as Tokyo deploys long-range missiles

Five ships transit Tsushima Strait and are tracked heading northeast after China warned of strong response to ‘neo-militarism’.

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Drones

China tests ‘heaviest cargo drone’ suited to high-altitude and island operations

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ICBMs

What the debut of a new air-based missile means for China’s nuclear strategy

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Drones

Rise of the ‘wolf pack’: China’s canine robots evolve for urban combat

Chinese state broadcaster highlights robot wolves, drones and laser weapons in new documentary about the PLA’s latest unmanned systems.

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The wolf pack operates through a shared sensing network, which acts like a collective brain allowing for collaboration and joint decision-making. Photo: CCTV
South Korea

What can the Iran war tell China about missile interception?

Journal says China should target boost stage, when ballistic missiles are slower, lack manoeuvrability and emit an intense heat signature.

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Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign

Former defence exec Tan Ruisong given death sentence for ‘exceptional’ corruption

Tan confessed to taking about US$89 million in bribes and insider trading during his time at Avic.

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US-China relations

US unlikely to get China to join new nuclear arms control agreement, experts say

Nuclear superpowers not taking active steps towards meaningful negotiation following the expiry of New Start arms treaty in February.

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DF-5C nuclear missiles are displayed during a military parade in Beijing in September 2025. Photo: Reuters
China’s military drills

New Type 055 destroyers for PLA East China Fleet tested in first live-fire drill

Exercise will ‘rapidly integrate’ the advanced vessels into the joint combat system covering Taiwan and the seas near Japan.

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UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)

Why is China’s ASN-301 suicide drone more deadly than its Iranian counterpart?

In a conflict over Taiwan or western Pacific, Beijing may overwhelm air defences through sheer numbers in a war of economic attrition.

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US, Israel war on Iran

PLA reveals AI-assisted aerial refuelling system days after US tanker crash

PLA Air Force details streamlined operations that pair tankers and fighters, with real-time recommendations for pilots.

Chinese fighter jets soar over Tiananmen Square in Beijing on September 3, 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Photo: Eugene Lee
Corruption in China

J-20 fighter jet designer scrubbed from Chinese Academy of Sciences website

Yang Wei has not appeared in public for more than a year, and it comes amid an anti-corruption campaign in the defence sector.

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Yang Wei led the design of the J-20 fifth-generation stealth fighter jet. Photos: Handout, AP
Drones

China leads world in anti-drone patent race with US far behind, law firm finds

Patent filings for anti-drone technology surged 27 per cent last year amid rising global security concerns, says Mathys & Squire.

ICBMs

Open Questions | Why Iran war may drive East Asia nuclear race, hit China in Mideast: Zhao Tong

Carnegie nuclear policy expert says law of the jungle signalled by US actions could spur more countries to pursue nuclear weapons.

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UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)

Could PLA’s new shipborne drone redefine South China Sea naval operations?

In a first, recent CCTV footage shows a lightweight uncrewed helicopter parked on the Chinese military’s Type 075 amphibious assault ship.

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Thursday’s footage showed a lightweight uncrewed helicopter with folding rotors and appearing to be slightly smaller than the PLA’s main shipborne helicopter, the Z-20 Photo: CCTV
Defence

How are military helicopters evolving to adapt to the age of drone warfare?

Armed forces such as the US and China are increasingly arming themselves with UAVs, but analysts believe crewed aircraft still have a role.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Artificial intelligence

China announces AI boost to radar as drone swarms confound detectors in Iran war

Technology allows radar to observe moving targets from multiple angles, gain dynamic information – and even identify potential decoy drones.

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Science

China beats US, Japan in carbon-fibre arms race with world’s first T1200 factory

‘Black gold’ fibre deemed transformative for energy and military purposes, EV innovations, medical devices and low-altitude economy.

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Nato

Serbia confirms it owns Chinese supersonic missiles after photo leak

‘We have a significant number of those missiles and we will have even more,’ Aleksandar Vucic said, adding they were ‘extremely effective’.

China’s President Xi Jinping, left, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Photo: AFP
ICBMs

China’s nuclear warhead storage a ‘highly concentrated risk’, US report says

Much of the stockpile is stored at one facility in the country’s northwest that’s accessible only by a narrow road, according to think tank.

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China-Japan relations

Open Questions | War on Iran may spark nuclear arms race, Carnegie scholar says

Zhao Tong says return to law of the jungle signalled by current US actions could spur countries without nuclear weapons to start acquiring them.

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Artificial intelligence

China warns US against letting AI ‘determine life and death’ on battlefield

China believes that human primacy must be upheld in military applications of AI, defence ministry spokesman says.

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US Forces strike Iranian military targets in “Operation Epic Fury”. A Chinese defence spokesman says widespread use of AI in war could “erode ethical constraints and accountability in wars”. Photo: Handout
Hypersonic missiles and weapons

What if Iran really did buy export variant of China’s YJ-12 supersonic missile?

Beijing has denied a report that it was close to selling the ‘aircraft-carrier killer’ to Tehran, but it would be a game-changer against US.

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The CM-302 supersonic anti-ship missile system, which the Iranians were said to be interested in, was launched to the international market in 2016. Photo: Dickson Lee
Drones

How cheaply can China fend off a drone swarm with its latest microwave weapon?

HPM technology has become cost-effective enough to be applied against drones in public security situations, state media report.

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Pakistan

Why have China’s arms imports plummeted 72% over the past 5 years?

Neighbours in Asia and Oceania increase their overseas weapons purchases amid ‘fears over China’s intentions’.

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Two Sessions 2026

China keeps defence budget growth steady as modernisation deadline looms

Beijing plans to set aside 7 per cent more for the military this year, with the total still a fraction of US spending.

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China’s spending on defence will increase by about 7 per cent this year. Photo: Xinhua
US-China relations

US advisory panel warns China is gaining in undersea warfare

Commission urges Pentagon to preserve underwater edge as Beijing expands submarines, unmanned systems and seabed ambitions.

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China has rapidly modernised its submarine fleet, narrowing the undersea capability gap with the United States, according to US officials. Photo: AFP
China-Middle East relations

Iran attack a ‘wake-up call’ for China on electronic warfare and intelligence

Retired PLA colonel urges China to watch out for ‘internal infiltration and intelligence leaks’ and boost ‘security around critical targets’.

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China’s navy

What will first Type 055 destroyers for PLA East China Fleet mean for Taiwan?

Two of the guided-missile destroyers with hull numbers assigned have been spotted at a naval base on the East China Sea coast.

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