Philippines–China Tensions: Manila marks the 10th anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling, with officials stressing the award as a legal baseline while pushing for a binding Code of Conduct. Sovereignty Row Over Batanes: Philippine lawmakers and the National Historical Commission reject Chinese academics’ claims that Batanes is part of China via Taiwan, citing constitutional and historical grounds. China Space & Energy: China pulls off its first controlled recovery of a Long March-10B rocket first stage, while the national power load hits a record 1.518 billion kilowatts as high-tech industry and data services drive demand. India–Middle East Energy Watch: Indian refiners are considering a return to Iranian crude purchases if a US sanctions waiver is extended, but uncertainty is slowing buying. India Policy & Markets: New Delhi orders states to crack down on fuel adulteration in the E20 supply chain; equity mutual fund inflows rebound in June; forex reserves rise to $674.19b. Business & Tech: Iswarya Fertility raises about $37m; AM Best rates China Ping An Insurance (Hong Kong) “A-”; OpenAI and Google provide AI services to Singapore-based affiliates of Pentagon-blacklisted Chinese firms. Regional Safety & Culture: A factory fire in China’s “shoe capital” kills 28; Japan airlifts climbers after a bear blocks their descent; Japan registers “Japanese tea” as a GI to fight imitations.