RH 2.6.26 | China: No Nukes, Arctic Deals, Taiwan Drones, and Spies Everywhere

👉 Subscribe to The Restricted Handling Podcast  https://www.restrictedhandling.com/  In this episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast, we break down one of the most consequential weeks in global security in years and explain why it matters even if you do not live anywhere near Beijing, Moscow, or Taipei.  We start with the end of the New START nuclear arms control treaty and what it actually means now that the last remaining limits on US and Russian nuclear arsenals are gone. No inspections. No caps. No transparency. For the first time in more than fifty years, the two largest nuclear powers are operating without formal guardrails. We walk through how Russia is reacting, why the Kremlin is staying oddly calm, and why that calm should not be mistaken for reassurance.  Then we turn to China's response and why Beijing is playing this moment exactly the way you would expect. Publicly, China is urging responsibility and warning about global instability. Privately, it is benefiting from the chaos while continuing to grow its own nuclear arsenal at speed. We explain why China has zero incentive to join arms control talks right now and how this moment quietly favors Beijing's long-term strategy.  From there, we head north to the Arctic, where China is buying access to a region it does not geographically belong to by paying Russia for seats on Arctic research vessels. We unpack what China is really getting from these so-called scientific expeditions, why Russia is suddenly willing to sell access it once guarded fiercely, and how climate change, shipping routes, and military planning all intersect in the High North.  The episode also covers rising pressure around Taiwan, where daily Chinese military activity is becoming background noise by design. We explain why Taiwan's leadership is worried about public numbness, how Taipei is responding with low-cost attack drones developed alongside a US defense company, and why deterrence today looks very different from the Cold War playbook.  We also break down China's very visible military flex at the Singapore Airshow and contrast it with what is happening behind the scenes inside the People's Liberation Army. Senior commanders are being purged, nuclear and aerospace figures are disappearing, and Xi Jinping appears increasingly dissatisfied with his own military leadership as key readiness milestones approach.  On the intelligence and security front, this episode dives into a string of China-linked espionage cases across Europe, including arrests in Greece and France tied to military and satellite communications. We connect those cases to growing scrutiny in Washington over potential Chinese access to sensitive US space infrastructure and why private companies now sit squarely at the center of national security debates.  We close by looking at technology and energy. From military AI governance falling apart at international summits to China warning about cybersecurity risks in tools its own tech sector is racing to deploy. From Russia cutting oil prices to keep China buying to Beijing quietly tightening its leverage over Moscow.  If you are trying to understand where China fits into a world with fewer rules, weaker guardrails, and rising great power competition, this episode gives you the context without the fluff. Serious issues, clear explanations, and just enough edge to keep it real.  👉 Subscribe to The Restricted Handling Podcast  https://www.restrictedhandling.com/  Get the daily intelligence brief Ryan and Glenn read covering Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, the Middle East, geopolitics, sanctions, military and intel operations. Save a few hours of your time getting ahead of the news cycle at restrictedhandling.com.