South China Sea Diplomacy: The Philippines rejected China’s claim that repairs on the BRP Sierra Madre violate a provisional understanding, saying no such restriction exists, as Manila and Beijing trade fresh accusations amid renewed coast guard incidents. US-China AI Clash: The Trump administration escalated pressure on Moonshot AI over Kimi K3, alleging “covert” distillation and IP theft from Anthropic, while the US Treasury warned of possible sanctions and Entity List action. Regional Security Talks: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and China’s Wang Yi met in Manila to lay groundwork for a September Trump-Xi summit, with Rubio also signaling Washington will raise Manila’s South China Sea concerns with Xi. Education Upgrade: China plans to elevate basic education with a stronger focus on virtue, health and fairer resource allocation, aiming for well-rounded student development. China-ASEAN Cooperation: Japan pledged more help on energy security and anti-scam efforts at an ASEAN-plus-three foreign ministers meeting, with China represented by Vice FM Hua Chunying. China-PNG Taiwan Move: China praised Papua New Guinea’s decision to close Taiwan’s economic office in Port Moresby, calling it the right direction. Disaster Aftermath: Floods in northern China left unsafe homes and animal carcasses, while search teams continued after a landslide in Chongqing raised the death toll to 11 with 50 missing. Sports Spotlight: China beat the US in a five-set thriller to reach the women’s VNL Finals semifinals.