Day: September 18, 2026

China may be aiming to equip its sixth-generation fighter jets with laser weapons that experts say could help defend them against incoming missiles. At the 14th China International Defence Electronics Exhibition, held in Beijing from September 15 to 17, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) Beijing Precision Engineering Institute for Aircraft Industry presented details of a “fighter aircraft laser-weapon tracking and aiming system”. According to social media posts, the booth display said the system weighed less than 380kg (838lbs), although key performance figures were partly obscured. What do we…

At the handover ceremony at the Chinese embassy in Washington on Wednesday, China received 58 pieces of cultural relics and palaeontological fossils from the Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities programme of US Homeland Security Investigations. A further six items were returned a day later by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York. Southern China’s biggest natural history museum opens in Shenzhen “The repatriation marks the latest step to implement the common understandings reached by the two presidents in their meetings in Beijing, and also demonstrates the broad prospects of…

China and the Philippines exchanged blame over a clash on Friday in disputed waters in the South China Sea, further fuelling tensions over the strategic waterway that has become a dangerous regional flashpoint. In a brief statement released on Friday afternoon, China’s coastguard accused a Philippine vessel of deliberately ramming a Chinese patrol vessel near the contested Sabina Shoal. “Philippine vessel No 3015 intentionally adjusted its course and suddenly accelerated to cut across the bow of the Chinese coastguard vessel, resulting in a collision,” said Jiang Lue, a Chinese coastguard…

South China Morning Post

For generations, the narrative of New Zealand’s human settlement has held that Polynesian voyagers – the ancestors of the Maori – arrived and settled the islands in the 13th century, followed by European explorers in the 17th century. This timeline underpins New Zealand’s history and its political model. The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840 between the British Crown and about 540 Maori chiefs, served as New Zealand’s founding document, paving the way for Britain to claim sovereignty and… South China Morning Post

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China launches Pinglu Canal, slashing transit time to Southeast Asia China officially opened its landmark Pinglu Canal to navigation on Wednesday, creating a new maritime gateway for the country’s southwestern hinterland and providing… South China Morning Post