A young man is shackled in a “tiger chair” during what appears to be an interrogation at Tekes County Detention Centre in 2018.

Detainees inside Tekes detention center in Xinjiang watch a televised speech by a local politician as guards watch them in 2017

Chinese officials tour a detention center in Tekes county, Xinjiang, where inhabitants occupy basements cells out-of-view.

The Xinjiang Police Files contains more than 5,000 photos of individuals taken in 2018 at police stations or detention centers in Konasheher County, in Xinjiang, and identifying information on most of them. The data indicates that more than half of the individuals were interned or imprisoned in 2017-2018, including those pictured in the top row. The second row displays mugshots of family members of a man sentenced to more than 10 years imprisonment for “illegal study of the scriptures.”

Chinese guards at a detention center in Tekes county in Xinjiang take part in an anti-escape drill in 2018.

Both male and female detainees are guarded by police as they stand in line, apparently to sing or recite at a detention center in Tekes County in Xinjiang, China.

Japan is asking universities for greater scrutiny of foreign students and scholars to prevent technology leaks to places like China, partly for its own national security but also to safeguard exchanges with U.S. and European universities.

Until now, for example, a Chinese scholar subsidised by his or her government would face few hurdles taking a doctoral course in cutting-edge radar technology in Japan, and then go home to put the research to use for military purposes.

Japan's intelligence agency learned that nine Chinese researchers had returned home to work in the defence sector after studying technologies for hypersonic missiles at Japanese institutions for years, media reported last year.

"Universities need money so they keep bringing in international students but some have little sense of crisis," said Masahiko Hosokawa, a former trade ministry official who was in charge of export controls.
 
"They should find ways to operate without Chinese nationals."

"We have no expectation that the PRC (People's Republic of China) will grant the necessary access required to conduct a complete, unmanipulated assessment of the human rights environment in Xinjiang," State Department spokesman Ned Price told a regular news briefing.
 
"We think it was a mistake to agree to a visit under the circumstances," Price said, adding that Bachelet would not be able to obtain a full picture "of the atrocities, the crimes against humanity, and genocide" in the region.

China will seek a region-wide deal with almost a dozen Pacific island countries covering policing, security and data communication cooperation when Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosts a meeting in Fiji next week, documents seen by Reuters show.
 
A draft communique and five-year action plan sent by China to 10 Pacific islands ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers on May 30 has prompted opposition from at least one of the invited nations, which says it showed China's intent to control the region and "threatens regional stability".
 
In a letter to 21 Pacific leaders seen by Reuters, the president of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), David Panuelo, said his country would argue the "pre-determined joint communique" should be rejected, because he feared it could spark a new "Cold War" between China and the West.

In his letter to other leaders, Panuelo said the communique would draw Pacific islands that have diplomatic relations with China "very close into Beijing's orbit, intrinsically tying the whole of our economies and societies to them".
 
He highlighted the risk of being caught in conflict as tensions rise between the United States and China over Taiwan.
 
"The practical impacts, however, of Chinese control over our communications infrastructure, our ocean territory and the resources within them, and our security space, aside from impacts on our sovereignty, is that it increases the chances of China getting into conflict with Australia, Japan, the United States and New Zealand," he said.
 
China's provision of customs systems would lead to "biodata collection and mass surveillance of those residing in, entering and leaving our islands", he added.

Apple could make its wireless earphone, Air Pods Pro 2, in Vietnam this year as it seeks to expand production outside China amid strict Covid-19 policies there, according to reports.
 
VN Express reported that supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted Tuesday that the new Air Pods would be mass produced in Vietnam from the second half of this year.
 
"The shift in Air Pods Pro 2 production can be attributed to the relatively uncomplicated supply chain and Vietnam’s better production environment (such as infrastructure and workforce) vs. most countries outside China."
 
But he said that since the product introduction process of the device is still on in China, it is not easy to establish a complete non-China production site.
 
Apple has told some of its contract manufacturers that it wants to boost production outside China, citing Beijing’s strict anti-Covid policy among other reasons, the Wall Street Journal reported last week.
 
India and Vietnam, already sites for a small portion of Apple’s global production, are among the countries getting a closer look from the company as alternatives to China, it said, citing people involved in the discussions.

China’s Top Two Leaders Diverge in Messaging on Covid Impact
Premier Li Keqiang acknowledges business impact of lockdowns and touts vaccinations in meetings with foreign executives, marking a contrast with President Xi Jinping

Of particular note, some participants said, Mr. Li didn’t defend Mr. Xi’s zero-Covid strategy, in a departure from recent meetings that foreign executives have had with senior Chinese officials, including some involved in trade and commerce.

Commander U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral John Aquilino and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, General Andres Centino signed the Maritime Security (Bantay Dagat) Framework May 23, 2022 at USINDOPACOM  headquarters on Camp Smith, Hawaii.  “Bantay Dagat” is a Tagalog term that means “Guardian of the Sea”, illustrating U.S. and Philippine resolve to improve regional maritime domain awareness and confront maritime challenges together.  
 
 
The framework is designed to enable a holistic, intergovernmental approach to maritime security through the interoperability of U.S. and Philippine maritime forces and option to include interagency organizations, and is a testament to the strength of the U.S. – Philippines alliance.