The cruise that will get you chased by the Chinese coastguard

China is bullying its rivals in the South China Sea. For some tourists, that makes it a perfect holiday destination

By Sue-Lin Wong

My holiday to the Philippines started with a post I found on Facebook. “TRAVEL LIKE NO OTHER”, it exhorted. “The Kalayaan Island Group boasts the most unspoilt destinations in the country. Whether you are travelling for adventure or curiosity, the Spratlys will not disappoint.”

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From the July 27th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

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1843 magazine | Inside the AI back-channel between China and the West

Computer scientists are reaching out across the geopolitical divide to try to stop an apocalypse

1843 magazine | A journey through the world’s newest narco-state

Drugs transformed Ecuador from a Latin American success story into a war zone


1843 magazine | The radioactive flood threatening Central Asia’s breadbasket

What it’s like to live with nuclear waste on your doorstep


1843 magazine | Why I gave up trying to delete myself from the internet

An enjoyable trip down memory lane soon became a boring full-time job

1843 magazine | Why aren’t Harris and Trump listening to Pennsylvania’s steelworkers?

The candidates oppose the takeover of US Steel. But employees want it to go ahead



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Wegovy hits the People’s Republic, at last

China mainlines “Musk’s miracle medicine”, at a fraction of the cost in America

China’s government is badgering women to have babies

It is testing an expanded pro-natalist playbook


Police officers and a police dog are on guard around the Japanese school in Shenzhen, Chin

China suffers eruptions from its simmering discontents

Amid random violence and increasing protests, fears mount for social stability 


Is India’s education system the root of its problems?

A recent comparison with China suggests that may be so

Podcast Drum Tower

Inside China’s disciplinary centres for “deviant” youth

Our weekly podcast on China. This week: what happens when young Chinese challenge the social conservatism of their parents?