Taiwan Strait Tensions: The Philippines deployed its largest ship and an aircraft to disrupt a Chinese research vessel near Batanes, with a China Coast Guard vessel moving in to shield it—another sign of intensifying gray-zone pressure. Defense Mobilization Law: China revised its national defense mobilization rules to better shift from peacetime to wartime, explicitly expanding coverage to civilian data/software and supply-chain resilience, with Taiwan widely seen as the backdrop. AI Security & Espionage: A Proofpoint report says China-aligned hackers (TA419) impersonated US AI officials to steal credentials from AI policy experts at think tanks and universities. US-China Trade Truce Reality Check: At the SJ Fall Summit, lawyers argued the latest US-China tariff “thaw” delivered mostly a limited extension and a narrow list of goods, not broad tariff cuts. G20 Food-Weaponization Push: G20 trade ministers agreed it’s unacceptable to target food supplies in conflicts, with European officials pointing at Russia’s Black Sea strikes. Fuel Export Controls: China’s refiners reportedly suspended October fuel exports to protect domestic stocks, adding pressure to already tight global diesel and oil markets. National Day & Tibet Protests: On China’s 77th anniversary, dozens of Tibetan protesters were detained near the Chinese embassy in New Delhi. China-Africa Diplomacy: Beijing’s ambassador in Nairobi renewed pledges to deepen ties with Kenya, emphasizing non-interference and expanded zero-tariff access.