China in May 2026: the most important developments in security
Espionage cases linked to China filled the security news in May 2026. A former Southern California mayor, Eileen Wang, resigned and agreed to plead guilty to acting as an agent of the Chinese government, and she entered that plea on 30 May. A UK immigration officer was found guilty of spying on politicians for China, in what officials called the first such case, and Britain summoned China's ambassador; China protested the ruling and warned of countermeasures. A German couple was arrested on suspicion of passing scientific and technological secrets to Chinese intelligence. A New York man was found guilty of acting as an unregistered agent of China, and a US citizen was convicted of running a secret Chinese police station in New York. Norway arrested two Chinese citizens on suspicion of spying, and an American journalist was charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government.
Taiwan and the seas around China were the second main theme. President Donald Trump was noncommittal about a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, and China repeated its opposition to such sales. After Trump's visit to Beijing, Taiwan reported that more than 100 Chinese naval and coast guard vessels were deployed nearby, and it tracked two Chinese combat patrols within a week. China's military said it drove away a Dutch frigate in the South China Sea. Japan announced a new combat role there, which Beijing criticised as remilitarisation.
The war involving Iran touched China as well. A Chinese oil tanker was hit near Hormuz on 8 May, reportedly the first such attack since the Hormuz crisis began, and Iran was reported to be allowing Chinese vessels through the strait. The US sanctioned China-based firms for sharing images of US bases with Iran, and reports said a Chinese-made missile likely downed a US F-15.
A gas explosion at a coal mine in Shanxi killed between 82 and 90 people; nationwide safety inspections followed, and China investigated the site. An explosion at a fireworks factory in Hunan killed at least 21.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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