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Ex-Engineer Details Chinese Navy’s Soldier Monitoring App

Software engineer Liu Dadong, who fled China to the U.S. in 2019, revealed that he once worked on a Chinese Navy project designed to monitor soldiers via smartphone apps. While at a small tech firm in Beijing’s Zhongguancun in 2017, Liu was told to help develop an app for a military bid.

The app had full control over soldiers’ phones – tracking all actions such as app usage, browsing history, calls, typed content, photos, locations, and sensitive keyword searches. The app also maintained a sensitive term list that was regularly updated using official data sources.

Data collected was transmitted to a central server in real time.

Liu said tests confirmed the app’s full access to phone activities. They even tested a “geofencing” (regional monitoring) feature: the app would trigger alerts if a phone moved beyond a preset location range (e.g. 100 meters).

He emphasized that surveillance today reaches all levels of electronic devices, but the most insidious threat lies in chips. “Because chips are tiny and complex, detecting embedded trojans is nearly impossible without blueprints – one reason the Chinese Communist Party is racing to develop domestic semiconductors (to replace foreign chips).”

Source: Epoch Times, July 21, 2025
https://hk.epochtimes.com/news/2025-07-21/80668044

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Information/Technology

China and Russia Hold “Joint Sea-2025” Naval Exercise

According to Xinhua News Agency, the China-Russia “Joint Sea-2025” naval exercise officially began on August 1 at a naval port in Vladivostok, Russia. Themed “Jointly Safeguarding Strategic Sea Lanes and Responding to Security Threats in the Western Pacific,” the exercise aims to further deepen the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination and enhance their joint capacity to maintain international and regional peace and stability.

China’s participating forces include the missile destroyers Shaoxing and Urumqi, the comprehensive supply ship Qiandaohu, the multi-purpose rescue ship Xihu, as well as fixed-wing aircraft, shipborne helicopters, and marine corps personnel.

Russia has dispatched the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs, the light frigate Loud, the rescue ship Belousov, fixed-wing aircraft, shipborne helicopters, and marine coprs personnel.

From August 3 to 5, Chinese and Russian naval vessels will conduct a three-day joint maritime drill in the sea and airspace near Vladivostok. The exercise will cover submarine rescue, joint anti-submarine warfare, air and missile defense, and maritime combat operations. It will also include live-fire drills to test the results of the earlier joint planning discussions.

After the exercise concludes, China and Russia will also carry out a joint naval patrol in relevant areas of the Pacific Ocean.

Since 2012, the “Joint Sea” series of exercises has been held ten times, becoming an important platform for China-Russia naval cooperation and significantly boosting their capacity for joint maritime operations.

Sources:
1. Xinhua, August 1, 2025
http://www.xinhuanet.com/20250801/8c94598a810c439397ffcf339e10861b/c.html
2. Xinhua, August 3, 2025
http://www.news.cn/world/20250803/5171f70e6c4540dbac55ed8410ec5ece/c.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

PLA Adopts New Military Training System with Three-Tier Support Model

According to the Training and Administration Department of the Central Military Commission, China’s military is accelerating the development of a new military training system by introducing a “three-tier support operation model.”

Basic Training:
Support is provided locally and conveniently according to standards, focusing on “intensive specialization.” On the basis of standardizing training facilities at the brigade level or below, multiple support zones are designated based on the distribution and density of military camps and training grounds across the country. This enables basic training to be conducted either within or near the unit’s garrison area by integrating nearby resources.

Combined Arms Training:
Support is shared and jointly built across services and arms, with a focus on “grouped confrontation.” Responsibilities and pathways for matching demand and supply within and across service branches are clarified. Military units at or above corps level take the lead in establishing collaborative zones across branches to enable cross-regional sharing of key resources, regional sharing of scattered resources, and sharing between the military and civil sectors of scarce resources.

Joint Training:
A system-wide support mechanism integrating virtual and real elements across all domains focuses on “systemic optimization.” By building a unified training network architecture, promoting the interconnectivity of training venues, and developing a multi-level, real-time, heterogeneous, and integrated training space, the system creates a large-scale, multi-dimensional, cross-domain training environment.

Source: People’s Daily, July 21, 2025
http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2025/0721/c1011-40526278.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

China’s Defense Ministry Responds to Largest-Ever U.S. Air Force Exercise: China is “Confident in Handling all Risks and Challenges”

At a regular press briefing on July 30, China’s Ministry of National Defense was asked to comment on the U.S. Air Force’s recent launch of “Mobility Guardian,” its largest-ever exercise in the Western Pacific. The operation aims to test combat concepts such as Agile Combat Employment and marks a significant intensification of the U.S. “Indo-Pacific strategy.”

Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang responded by saying, “The Pacific should remain a region of peace – not a theater for those who seek to stir up trouble.” He criticized the U.S. for clinging to Cold War-era thinking, showcasing military strength in the Asia-Pacific, using exercises as a pretext to build alliances, and exerting pressure on other nations – actions he said undermine regional peace and stability.

“No matter how fierce the storm, we remain steady at the helm,” Zhang added. He emphasized that China’s military is fully confident and capable of handling all risks and challenges, and will resolutely defend national sovereignty, security, and development interests. He also claimed China’s role as a steadfast force for regional and global peace.

Source: Huanqiu Times, July 30, 2025
https://mil.huanqiu.com/article/4NhooICt6sW

Briefings | | |   @CS Defense/Military US-China Relations

Beijing Demands Ukraine Immediately Retract its Sanctions on Chinese Entities

On July 28, 2025, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun addressed the issue at a regular press conference.

A reporter from Russia Today asked: On Sunday (July 27), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced he had approved a new round of sanctions proposed by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. The 18th package, which has officially taken effect, targets 53 individuals and entities, including some from China. What is China’s response?

Guo Jiakun stated: “China firmly opposes all forms of unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law and are not authorized by the UN Security Council. We urge the Ukrainian side to immediately correct this erroneous decision and mitigate its negative consequences. China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese businesses and individuals.”

Source: China Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, July 28, 2025
https://www.mfa.gov.cn/fyrbt_673021/202507/t20250728_11678284.shtml

Briefings | | |   @CS Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

Kim Yo-jong Rejects U.S. Dialogue Hopes, Declares North Korea’s Nuclear Status Irreversible

On July 28, the White House stated that President Donald Trump remains willing to engage in talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The South Korean government echoed this position, reaffirming its commitment to rebuilding inter-Korean trust in a peaceful environment and creating favorable conditions for resuming U.S.–North Korea dialogue.

However, North Korea’s state media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported that Kim Yo-jong – sister of Kim Jong-un and Vice Department Director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea – dismissed these overtures, stating that “U.S.–North Korea contact is merely the United States’ ‘wish.’” She criticized Washington’s unilateral interpretation of past talks, saying Pyongyang assigns no value to such evaluations.

Kim declared that North Korea’s nuclear status is now irreversible and that the regional geopolitical landscape has fundamentally changed. Recognizing this reality, she said, must be the starting point for any future discussions. North Korea, she added, remains open to any option that safeguards its national status. If the U.S. refuses to accept this new reality and clings to failed strategies of the past, she concluded, any talk of renewed dialogue will remain nothing more than an American illusion.

Source: Huanqiu Times, July 29, 2025
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/4NhI2Bq5tlg

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

Leadership Shake-up in China’s People’s Armed Police: Commander Wang Chunning Disappears, Acting Chief Steps In

Wang Chunning (王春宁), commander of China’s People’s Armed Police (PAP), has been absent from public view since late last year and is rumored to be under investigation.

On July 21, the 15th National Commendation Conference for Heroes and Role Models of Courageous Acts was held in Beijing. According to reports from Legal Daily and Procuratorial Daily the following day, Cao Junzhang (曹均章), serving as the acting commander of the PAP, attended the event in an official capacity.

Born in 1965 and holding the rank of lieutenant general, Cao has had a long military career in the former Chengdu Military Region. His previous roles include Director of the Operations Department, Commander of a division within the Army’s 13th Group Army, Deputy Commander of that army, and later Deputy Commander of the 76th Group Army.

Political analysts believe the current shift in leadership signals that the PAP remains firmly under the influence of Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Cao’s background links him to Zhang, as the 13th Group Army had long been under Zhang’s command. Another deputy commander of the PAP, Fu Wenhua (付文化), also hails from the 16th Group Army in the Shenyang Military Region –  Zhang’s power base.

The PAP plays a critical role in China’s internal security structure and is frequently deployed to suppress public dissent.

Source: Epoch Times, July 24, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/7/24/n14559438.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Defense/Military Government/Politics

People’s Daily: Joint Landing Exercises Between Army and Navy Become Routine

People’s Daily reported a story about coordination between the army and the navy.

In recent years, as joint training has steadily expanded, an armored unit from a certain brigade has increasingly conducted coordinated landing ship training with naval forces, making such exercises a routine practice. The duration of the maritime training varies.

To address the issue of meal provision for armored unit personnel during extended periods at sea, the brigade headquarters established a coordination mechanism with a naval detachment. During training, naval cooks on board provide hot meals to the army soldiers.

Source: People’s Daily, July 15, 2025
http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2025/0715/c1011-40521761.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military