Trump’s AI Export Policy Faces Scrutiny As Chinese Military-Linked Labs Seek Access

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB): China labs, with military links, trying to secure U.S. Nvidia AI chips. The microchips, supposedly protected from being used for military applications since President Trump allowed their export to China, are being sought by universities that support the country’s defense industry.

At least seven Chinese universities with ties to country’s military and defense sector are seeking access to Nvidia’s H200 chips, the most advanced AI processors currently permitted for sale in China under tight U.S. export regulations which stipulate that they cannot be used for military purposes.

Three of these institutions — Beihang University, Northwestern Polytechnical University, and Beijing Institute of Technology — are members of China’s “Seven Sons of National Defense,” group of universities closely linked to military research on Commerce Department’s blacklist for their role in supporting China’s military development.

The universities are pursuing access to Nvidia’s technology through several channels, including purchases via third-party intermediaries and agreements to lease computing capacity powered by chips held in other countries.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s the latest defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

THE PDB – Not the President’s Daily Briefing, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

How America’s adversaries compete across peace and war. Rather than seeking decisive battlefield victory, adversaries are using long-term pressure campaigns to erode U.S. power, autonomy, and resolve.

HOMELAND DEFENSE

Trump invokes national security in push for White House ballroom ‘drone port,’ and assailed a federal judge’s injunction halting aboveground construction of White House ballroom, emphasizing enhanced security features that form key part of project.

DEFENSE POLITICS

Pentagon press office is now a classified area and off-limits to reporters. Journalists are no longer allowed.

U.S. appeals court said Trump administration could, for now, bar transgender people from enlisting in military, but blocked expulsion of current service members while lawsuit plays out.

Pentagon directed by congressional watchdog agency to assess what was learned from sweeping reductions in civilian DOD personnel made by Trump administration.

Pentagon’s ‘innovative commercial models’ cited for increased missile production. Lockheed Martin’s president of missiles and fire control talks about how company is expanding production under the DoD’s increased drive for more munitions.

US POWER OVERSEAS

U.S. special operations task force in Somalia is looking for contractors to advise troops on Somali politics, culture and tribal dynamics, amid military strikes and shrinking U.S. military footprint in region.

IRAN WAR

Iran breaking off talks to end war because of Israel’s escalating military attacks in Lebanon and U.S. strikes.

U.S. military targeted Iranian radar and command control sites this weekend in response to hostile acts from Iranian forces.

Iranian attacks damaged 20 U.S. military sites since start of war, satellite images show. Tehran’s strikes appear more extensive than publicly acknowledged.

ISRAEL WAR: LEBANON

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified, after Trump said two sides had agreed to dial back fighting following talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and indirect communication with Hezbollah.

CHINA THREAT

War Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Asian allies to ramp up military spending to counter China’s growing power and prevent its dominance in the region, warning of ‘rightful alarm’ over its rapid military buildup.

China and U.S. recently held “candid and constructive” exchanges in Hawaii on air and maritime safety and discussed measures to improve military maritime security.

RUSSIA THREAT/UKRAINE WAR

Deterring Russia beneath the waves: Securing NATO’s critical undersea infrastructure. What if you woke up one morning and internet was gone — not from software glitch, but because someone had simply cut the wire?

Russian air strikes hit several major Ukrainian cities as officials warned of possible wider assault. Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv were among the hardest hit, with residential buildings damaged and thousands of residents sheltering underground.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine in urgent need of anti-ballistic missiles from U.S. to shoot down increasing number of attacks from Russia.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s military could now hit Russian logistics throughout occupied areas of Ukraine and had created shortages of fuel in Crimea and other Russian-held regions.

Russia sent cargo ship to resupply its air base in Syria, signal the Kremlin intends to maintain strategically important military foothold under country’s new rulers.

EUROPEAN DEFENSE

Norway has become the ninth European country to sign up for French nuclear protection in light of heightened alertness vis-à-vis Russia and broadly faltering trust in U.S. reliability.

Poland spends $16.5 billion in EU-backed loans on locally produced heavy army weapons like infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled howitzers, military vehicles, and self-propelled wheeled mortars, and other weapons.

NORTH KOREA THREAT

South Korea goes full steam ahead on nuclear-powered submarines. For first time, South Korea has officially declared a national strategic roadmap to adopt nuclear-powered attack submarines, known as SSNs.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Fences not F-35s: Drone attacks and the illogic of Gulf procurement. Fencing can be an anti-drone defense. Gulf states need to build air defenses around the threats they actually face, rather than those U.S. (and other supplier) forces that Gulf militaries have inherited largely intact.

US MILITARY

Not ‘just a gun’: New SOCOM rifle allows barrel swapping and cartridge changes. Special Operations Command will begin fielding the MK24 Medium Range Gas Gun Assault before end of fiscal year, furthering SOCOM’s shift away from legacy cartridges like the 7.62mm NATO round.

Game-changing new tech emerges for troops and commands. Box that makes drinkable water out of thin air and hydrofoil drone tech have emerged at defense shows.

Check out hydrofoil drone that takes off and lands on water. It can loiter in water, take off and fly at low altitude, then land again on surface after missions.

FOR MORE DETAILED, UNCENSORED, INTELLIGENCE, AND ANALYSIS FROM PAUL CRESPO, SUBSCRIBE TO HIS SUBSTACK.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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