Chinese

South Korean President Lee ‍Jae Myung proposes a halt to Pyongyang’s nuclear programme in exchange for ‘compensation’.

South Korean President Lee ‍Jae Myung has said he has asked his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to play a mediation role as his government seeks to improve relations with the North and restart talks over its nuclear programme.

Speaking in Shanghai on Wednesday, at the end of a four-day state visit to China, Lee proposed a freeze in Pyongyang’s nuclear programme in exchange for “compensation or some form of return”.

“Just stopping at the current level – no additional production of nuclear weapons, no transfer of nuclear materials abroad, and no further development of ICBMs – would already be a gain,” Lee told journalists following meetings with top Chinese officials, including his second meeting with Xi in two months.

“If that stage is achieved, then in the medium term we can move toward gradual reduction,” Lee added. “In the long term, we must not give up the goal of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.”

Lee was speaking to reporters on the final day of his trip, which was the first state visit by a South Korean leader to China in six years.

The visit aimed to reset relations between the countries following a rocky period in recent years due to a dispute over the deployment in South Korea of a United States missile defence system in ⁠2017.

Lee told reporters that much progress had been made in restoring trust and that he had told Xi he would “like China to play a mediating role on issues related to the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea’s nuclear programme”.

“All our channels are completely blocked,” Lee said. “We hope China can serve as … a mediator for peace.”

Xi had urged Seoul to show “patience” in its dealings with Pyongyang, given how fraught ties between the two Koreas have become, Lee added.

“And they’re right. For quite a long period, we carried out military actions that North Korea would have perceived as threatening,” Lee said.

South Korea’s ousted former President Yoon Suk-yeol has been indicted for allegedly trying to provoke military aggression from North Korea in a bid to help him consolidate power.

On Monday, Pyongyang confirmed it had carried out test flights of hypersonic missiles, with leader Kim Jong Un saying it was important to “expand the … nuclear deterrent” in light of “the recent geopolitical crisis” – an apparent reference to Washington’s attacks on Venezuela and its abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

In a major follow-up to three of our recent stories on China’s weapons developments, we can now report that what appeared to be a modular, road-mobile, electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) catapult capable of flinging advanced fixed-wing combat drones into the air is now set up on a ship. And not just any ship, but the same medium cargo vessel that was recently configured as an improvised surface combatant, with roughly 60 containerized missile launch cells, radars, and close-in defenses. The ship was rapidly reconfigured over a few days to go from an arsenal ship of sorts to a multi-role advanced combat drone carrier.

This is the latest news to come out of the Shanghai-based Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard, where the converted cargo ship first appeared a week ago. Just down the dock from this vessel, the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) giant amphibious assault ship, the Type 076 Sichuan, sits in dry dock. That vessel features a built-in EMALS catapult for launching all types of drones.

Not long after the converted cargo ship was spotted, the stealthy collaborative combat aircraft (CCA)-like drones (which may very well be mockups) were spotted on the dock next to the ship. Then the modular, vehicle-based EMALS system appeared, with each truck locking into the next, creating what seemed like a scalable catapult track. You can read our full report and analysis on it here.

Such a capability would be a boon for land-based launch operations, but at the time of writing, we also stated:

“It is also worth noting that a modular electromagnetic catapult system might be usable on ships that do not have this capability built into their design. As mentioned, the drones and trucks seen at Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard were spotted near a cargo ship loaded with various containerized weapons and other systems. A drone launch capability of some kind would be a logical addition to a vessel with that configuration. At the same time, whether or not any catapult system made up of multiple segmented components would be stable enough for use on a ship rocking back and forth at sea is unclear.”

Now that the catapult system is indeed on the ship, there have been major configuration changes to the vessel to accommodate it. Just 24 of the 60 vertical launch cells remain, with six missile containers still on the ship, providing room for the catapult system and possibly other drones. The Type 1130 30mm close-in weapon system (CIWS), large phased array radar and other sensor and communications systems mounted on containers are also retained. The container on the starboard side of the 30mm CIWS that had decoy launchers and life rafts mounted on it is gone. It isn’t clear if the one on the port side remains. Regardless, when taken at face value, in this drone launching configuration, the ship would still be able to defend itself well (at least conceptually).

As for the catapult setup, we see four vehicles connected in a ‘train’ to create the catapult track, with a ‘ready to launch’ drone mounted atop the rear one and another sitting on the deck behind it. This is exactly the same configuration we saw on the dock in previous pictures, aside from the addition of the fourth catapult vehicle, although satellite images showed the fourth sitting nearby but not connected to the catapult train while pier-side. As we discussed in our previous piece, the length of the catapult could be presumably tailored to the aircraft types being launched and dimensional constraints of the launch area, creating a highly adaptable and mobile catapult launch system.

What isn’t perfectly clear is how much room remains on the deck with so many containers removed and the catapult train installed. If the remaining missile launcher containers are situated on the edge of the opposite side of the ship, there should be some room in between. As you can see in satellite imagery, the swept-wing, stealthy, advanced combat drone designs seen at the dock are quite large with a considerable wingspan.

Now we get into clearances needed for launch. It’s hard to tell the margin that exists vertically between the bow of the ship and an aircraft that would be careening off the catapult. It certainly doesn’t look like much, depending on the speed of the aircraft and where it would ‘liftoff’ from the catapult track. The clearance between the CIWS canister and the wing of the aircraft is also in question, although the container could be scooted over, presumably. With the catapult train on the opposite edge of the deck, clearing the wingtip should not be a problem.

The question of how this system would work on a rolling, heaving ship and how it would hold up to the harsh maritime environment while exposed on the ship’s deck is a major question that is totally unanswered at this time. In addition, such a system would require a lot of power to launch a relatively heavy swept wing drone over such a short distance. The drone would have to be engineered to deal with such a violent catapult stroke as well. So how feasible that is also isn’t clear.

There are no provisions for recovering the drones once they have finished their missions. This is a launch-only concept. Unless they can land with parachutes and air bags and be fished out of the water, refurbished and reused, and this would be tough to do all on this one ship, they would be going on one-way missions from this vessel. This kind of split operational concept is relevant in many scenarios though.

And that brings us to the biggest question of all: what are we really seeing here? What is real and what is aspirational? From the drones to the catapult train to the improvised surface combatant configuration for the cargo ship, this all could be a proof of concept or something more mature. There are indications toward the latter, as we have discussed in our previous posts, but this could still be exploratory and even somewhat performative — meant just as much for foreign consumption as it is for testing real systems.

From the start, this arsenal ship of sorts appeared configured for our viewing pleasure, and China knows full well what will ‘leak’ out in terms of most of its major military technological developments, if the government doesn’t have a direct hand in it itself. Now we are seeing another configuration change for this vessel in a very short period of time with some very impressive technology (mobile modular EMALS and advanced drones) needed to underpin it. All this screams “we can rapidly turn our vast commercial fleet into surface combatants and advanced drone carriers.” That is a powerful message and a troubling one for the U.S. and its allies that are already struggling to confront China’s massive naval expansion. The timing is also worth highlighting. A year ago to the week, a crescendo of major Chinese military technological developments also ‘leaked,’ ushering in a new year of highly impressive developments for the PLA. So this would fit that pattern.

While it does appear there is real technology and developmental thought put into all this, just how mature the mobile EMALS catapult system for use on such a ship is isn’t clear. But considering how fast China has been moving on pushing forward its defense technology repertoire, especially over the last year, it would be unwise to disregard the possible existence of such a capability.

Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com

US recently approved $11bn arms package for Taiwan, which condemned ‘provocative’ Chinese military drills.

The United States has called on China to exercise “restraint” and avoid actions that raise tensions following a series of war games around Taiwan simulating a blockade of the island.

The US Department of State said in a statement on Thursday that China’s bellicose language and military drills, which prompted sharp condemnation from Taipei, were a source of unnecessary strain.

“China’s military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan and others in the region increase tensions unnecessarily. We urge Beijing to exercise restraint, cease its military pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue,” said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.

“The United States supports peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, including by force or coercion,” he added.

China fired missiles and deployed jets and naval vessels earlier this week in a simulation of military actions to encircle Taiwan, which Beijing claims as an integral part of its territory and has vowed to bring under its control.

Chinese military drills have become a frequent occurrence, causing few disruptions to life on the self-governed island, whose status the US has not officially weighed in on.

But Beijing’s assertive stance has prompted angry condemnations from Taiwanese officials, and crackdowns on formerly autonomous areas such as Hong Kong following integration with China have bolstered scepticism about the prospects of possible reunification with Beijing.

“As president, my stance has always been clear: to resolutely defend national sovereignty and strengthen national defence,” Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te said on Thursday.

Lai has called for a $40bn increase in Taiwan’s military spending, but the proposal is stalled in the country’s legislature, where the opposition party currently holds a majority.

“The coming year, 2026, will be a crucial one for Taiwan,” the president said, adding that Taiwan must “make plans for the worst, but hope for the best”.

While US lawmakers often make strong statements of support for Taiwan, US policy towards the island has been marked by ambiguity for decades and does not include an assurance of military support in the event of an invasion by China.

The US recently approved an $11bn arms package for Taiwan, but President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he did not believe China had plans to launch an invasion of Taiwan in the near future.

“I have a great relationship with [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping]. And he hasn’t told me anything about it. I certainly have seen it,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

“They’ve been doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area. Now people take it a little bit differently,” he added.

We had a feeling we would be in for another round of weapons ‘reveals’ out of China this Christmas, following last year’s ‘leaks’ of not just one, but two tailless stealth tactical jet designs, among other developments. It appears we are getting at least one installment of this in the form of a medium-sized cargo ship packed full of containerized vertical launchers, along with sensors and self defense systems. The message is clear, China is making it known that it could, and likely will, turn ships from its behemoth of a commercial fleet into not just shooters, but arsenal ships.

The vessel has containers packed on its deck, both used for containing weapons and for mounting them, along with sensors. In other words, the layout appears to be designed as something of an improvised superstructure in order to turn the cargo ship into a heavily-armed surface combatant of sorts. This includes the mounting of a large rotating phased-array radar forward of the bridge atop three containers, as well as another domed radar or communications system across the deck from it mounted on two containers.

Near the bow of the vessel, high-up mounted on above two containers, we see an Type 1130 30mm close-in-weapon system (CIWS) for last-ditch defense against incoming threats, especially cruise missiles. One container lower, on both sides, we see Type 726 decoy launchers mounted on top of another pair of containers. The large cylindrical pods appear to be emergency life rafts, likely required because of the expanded crew size to make a concept like this work.

Then we get to the real eyebrow raiser, a deck literally covered with containerized vertical launchers. Installed five wide and three deep, each packing four large launch tubes, this arrangement gives the vessel a whopping 60 vertical large launch cells. This is two-thirds the VLS capacity of a Arleigh Burke class Flight I or II destroyer.

Due to the large radar installation, it appears this ship’s mission is something of a picket ship, rather than just an arsenal ship, providing area air defense, but that doesn’t mean its containerized launchers couldn’t pack other weapons. Still, something like this could be useful for persistently providing air defense over a given area.

Regardless, it’s an impressive display and there have been rumors about China going this route as it races to advance its goal of naval supremacy. We have already seen Chinese commercial ships leveraged at improvised helicopter carriers and ferries being shifted to the island invasion mission during exercises. It’s also worth noting that containerized weapon systems have moved from controversial oddity to the mainstream over the last decade, and it’s an area the U.S. continues to pursue heavily for all sorts of applications.

The images of China’s cargo ship turned floating missile farm offer a lot to look at, but the question has to be raised just how real this configuration is? It very much looks like it was made photo ready for these images. Is this a proof of concept demonstrator or just a mockup? How sturdy are the radar and CIWS installations, for instance? On closer examination of the images, the radar installation looks relatively robust, but takeaways are limited at this time. The radar would have an issue with being close to inline with the ship’s actual aft superstructure, although there are ways to mitigate this. And just because you can bolt all this to a commercial ship, it doesn’t mean it can employ these sensors and weapons effectively. What combat information system exists on the ship to integrate all these systems and effectively use them in combat?

We just don’t know at this time.

China’s military aerospace sector is clearly in a period of rapid growth and innovation right now. As it continues to roll out new combat aircraft designs, crewed and uncrewed, for domestic use, it’s also lining up new exports of at least three of its in-production fighters. That’s one finding from the unclassified version of an annual Pentagon report to Congress on China’s military, released yesterday.

The latest Pentagon assessment of the military and security developments involving China doesn’t include much in the way of new information on the individual aircraft programs for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The report does mention the debut in the last 12 months of “two stealth aircraft with novel tailless design features,” the aircraft that are now known informally as the J-36 and the J-XDS. Other debuts highlighted include the land-based J-35A fifth-generation combat aircraft and the J-15D carrier-borne electronic warfare aircraft. Also of note is the statement that the new airborne early warning and control aircraft based on the Y-20B transport is “meant to identify and track advanced stealth aircraft.”

Perhaps the most significant military aerospace development is the assertion in the report that China aims to produce six aircraft carriers by 2035, which would provide a total of nine (China’s third, the Fujian, began its inaugural sea trials in May). Recent imagery indicates that China is progressing with work on a new aircraft carrier, its fourth, which is expected to introduce nuclear propulsion. There are increasing reports that Beijing may also still be working on at least one more conventionally powered carrier, too. If these plans are accurate, then the gap between China’s fleet of carriers and the U.S. Navy’s 11 active nuclear-powered supercarriers is growing smaller at an even faster pace.

When it comes to China’s fighters for export, the report identifies the fifth-generation Shenyang FC-31 (export variant of the J-35), the fourth-generation Chengdu J-10C, and the JF-17, which it defines, somewhat puzzlingly, as a light combat aircraft. The last of these, also named Thunder, is a China-Pakistan coproduction, not used by the PLA.

In terms of orders already achieved, the Pentagon states that, as of May 2025, the FC-31 has no sales. However, it does say that there are “interested clients,” which include Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The first prototype FC-31 took to the air in 2012 and was followed, in 2016, by a significantly reworked and greatly refined version, which we discussed in detail at the time. More recently, developmental focus has been on the J-35 version for carrier-based service with the PLA Navy. Alongside this, Shenyang has also developed the J-35A, a land-based stealth fighter that has been under development for some time and which publicly emerged late last year.

The long-term PLA Air Force plans for the J-35A remain unclear, but the carrier-capable J-35 may well now be in operational PLA Navy service. Since the base design was developed primarily for export, foreign sales are almost certainly still being sought.

Somewhat surprising is the fact that the Pentagon doesn’t link Pakistan with a potential FC-31 order. After all, there had been a previous announcement of official Pakistani plans to acquire a land-based version of the jet.

Pakistan is interested in buying FC-31.

The details are subject to further negotiations, but it’s unlikely we’ll sell the AF version of the J-35 (more developed form of FC-31).

It’s more likely a bespoke version of FC-31 for Pakistan
1/2 pic.twitter.com/X4PdRNSpAy

— Zhao DaShuai 东北进修🇨🇳 (@zhao_dashuai) January 3, 2024

As for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, all these nations are known to be looking for new fighters.

Egypt was once destined to receive 24 Su-35s from Russia, before the threat of U.S. sanctions and a teased offer of F-15s put an end to that sale. In particular, Washington had said it would put sanctions on Cairo under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). In the event, it appears those same Su-35s, or at least some of them, ended up in Algeria.

In Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, the FC-31 would join a relatively packed list of competitors for that country’s next batch of fighters.

Saudi Arabia was long expected to buy more Eurofighter Typhoons, in a deal that would be brokered by BAE Systems of the United Kingdom. With that potential deal held up by concerns over Saudi human rights abuses, Saudi Arabia entered talks to buy 54 Dassault Rafale fighters, as we reported back in 2023. More recently, Boeing confirmed that it was offering the F-15EX Eagle II to Saudi Arabia, while last month it was reported that the Trump administration was weighing up the sale of up to 48 Lockheed Martin F-35As to the kingdom.

Selling the stealth jet to Saudi Arabia would be a significant policy shift, with Washington previously being unwilling to export F-35s to Arab states in the region, for fear of upsetting the strategic balance in relation to Israel. The same applies to the United Arab Emirates, where, like in Saudi Arabia, Beijing seems to be offering its stealthy FC-31 as a direct alternative to the F-35.

An arms package for the United Arab Emirates, approved at the end of the previous Trump administration and valued at up to $23.37 billion, included 50 F-35As, among other weapons. In 2021, the Emirati government reportedly said it wanted to scrap the plan, due to concerns over stringent safeguards to protect these systems — somewhat ironically — against Chinese espionage.

For the J-10C, the report notes that the only exports of this type are the 20 units delivered to Pakistan. These are part of two previous orders from Islamabad totaling 36 aircraft since 2020. It’s unclear when the remaining jets are set to be delivered to the Pakistan Air Force. Since entering Pakistani service, the J-10C saw its combat debut in this year’s clashes between India and Pakistan. Many observers pointed to the potentially significant impact made by the jets, especially in conjunction with their much-vaunted PL-15 air-to-air missiles — the latter of which you can read about in depth here. Regardless, China went into overdrive to publicize the claimed success of the J-10C and its Chinese-made missiles in Pakistan Air Force hands.

Meanwhile, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Iran, and Bangladesh are all said to have expressed interest in the J-10C.

Aside from the aforementioned Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, and Bangladesh are all known to be looking for new fighter equipment.

Indonesia signed a contract for the 42 Rafales, which it followed up by announcing plans to buy up to 24 F-15EX fighters, specifically a derivative known as the F-15IND, as you can read more about here.

Dassault Rafale (T0302) Multirole Fighter destined for Indonesia spotted at Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport.

📸: Willy Josse – Bordeaux Mérignac Spotters pic.twitter.com/8cmgU6PmQB

— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) November 8, 2025

The prospects of a J-10C sale in Iran may be somewhat better.

Iran’s geriatric air force has been particularly hobbled by historic arms embargoes and the country’s increasing pariah status in the global community. In the past, Iran has been linked with a potential transfer of Su-35s, which so far hasn’t materialized, while the country’s fighter force almost certainly suffered heavy attrition in the conflict with Israel earlier this year.

As for Bangladesh, this country may also now be out of the market for a new fighter. Earlier this month, it was reported that it had signed a letter of intent with Italy’s Leonardo to buy an undisclosed number of Typhoons.

Turning to the JF-17, which is the lowest-end and cheapest offering of the three fighters, has also done the best in terms of exports.

As of May 2024, the Pentagon records JF-17 sales to Azerbaijan, Burma, and Nigeria, as well as Pakistan. The report also says that, as of 2024, negotiations were underway regarding a possible JF-17 transfer to Iraq.

Iraq is an intriguing candidate customer. Although it has been a keen customer of Chinese arms for many years, the country’s fighter needs would appear to be well met by its Lockheed Martin F-16s — provided they are still operational.

Back in 2023, the Pentagon reported that the F-16IQ had become Iraq’s most reliable platform for carrying out airstrikes against ISIS terrorists, at least in part due to a shortage of spare parts for Iraq’s Russian-made attack helicopters as a result of the war in Ukraine. U.S. and Iraqi authorities were said to be looking into the possibility of modernizing the F-16IQ’s notoriously limited air-to-air capabilities.

It’s unclear why Iraq might have started to look at buying JF-17s. One possibility is simply to increase the size of its fighter fleet and do it more cheaply, but it’s also possible that Iraq’s F-16s may be suffering from some of the same kinds of problems they did in the past. Indeed, as of 2020, it was announced that the withdrawal of maintenance teams from Iraq meant that its F-16 fleet was at risk of effectively ceasing to exist.

Overall, we don’t know how accurate the Pentagon’s assessments of potential export sales for China’s fighters are, but they remain interesting.

Not least for the fact that China, the world’s fourth-largest arms supplier, is increasingly active at the higher end of military aerospace exports. Indeed, with three different fighter designs on offer, it is well able to meet different requirements in terms of costs and capabilities. With its stealthy FC-31, China can offer a competitor not only to the F-35 but also to the Turkish TF Kaan and the South Korean KF-21 Boramae at the lower end of that segment.

Furthermore, China is increasingly well-positioned to offer complementary drones to operate alongside these crewed fighters. China is currently making great leaps in drone technology and is in hot pursuit of equivalents to the U.S. Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). Such designs could be offered paired with these fighters, putting even smaller countries within reach of the latest concept of operations and airpower capabilities.

In addition, as the Pentagon report notes, “arms transfers are a component of China’s foreign policy and complement assistance and initiatives that are part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Many developing countries, especially in Africa, purchase China’s weapons systems because they are less expensive than Western systems.” This latter point certainly holds true for the JF-17, in particular, although that jet has added significant new capabilities in its later versions, including an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.

Beijing is also more willing than most Western nations to offer financial incentives such as trade for minerals and flexible payment options.

Overall, all three fighters, like all Chinese weapons designs, also have the major advantage of being immune to the tight export restrictions that typically apply to Western products. The story of Beijing’s fighter exports indicates that it is far more likely to grant export licenses to countries that might be prohibited from buying a Western design.

Provided China can secure an export sale for the FC-31, this would be a hugely significant development, greatly helping China break farther out into the higher-end fighter marketplace — especially if it is offered at an attractive price. At the same time, foreign orders for the jet would help offset further development costs and lower production costs, making it even more attractive on the export market.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Dec. 22 (UPI) — Beijing unveiled tariffs as high as 42.7% on imports of European Union dairy products on Monday, saying the subsidies Brussels provided to producers in the 27-country bloc were the cause of “substantial damage” to China’s dairy industry.

The import taxes of between 21.9% and 42.7%, which come into force Tuesday following a 16-month-long anti-subsidy probe by China’s Ministry of Commerce, will affect France’s famous Roquefort, other blue, fresh and processsed cheeses as well as whole and unsweetened milk and cream.

“The investigating authority has preliminarily determined that imported dairy products originating from the European Union were subsidized, causing substantial damage to the relevant dairy product industry in China, and that there is a causal relationship between the subsidies and the substantial damage,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said that the highest levy would be applied to the products of firms that had failed to cooperate with the investigation with firms that had been cooperative only subject to a rate of 28.6%.

Firms named in the ministry list hailed from across the bloc with France, the Netherlands and Belgium heavily represented. Italian and Spanish producers also feature. Most companies were hit with a rate of 28.6% or 29.7%.

The Netherlands’ Friesland Campina and its subsidiary in neighboring Belgium were both hit with the top 42.7% rate along with an “Other EU Companies” grouping, which is not specified. It is unclear if this group is all EU companies not named in the document that export to China.

The EU criticized the action, saying it was neither justified nor warranted.

The move came just over a year after the EU hit China’s massive EV sector with import tariffs of as high as 36.3%, alleging unfair competition due to subsidies provided to the industry by the Chinese government.

Among the big three EV makers — BYD, Geely and SAIC — BYD and Geely were slapped with duties of 17% and 19.3% respectively, along with a 21.3% tariff on other “cooperating companies.”

The top rate was applied to SAIC together with other EV makers deemed not to have cooperated with the EU’s investigation.

The EV tariffs also saw Beijing launch anti-competition probes into Europe’s brandy and pork products industries, leading to accusations the EU was dumping surplus pork production in the Chinese market.

In September, Beijing imposed short-lived tariffs of between 15.6% and 62.4% on EU pork and pig by-product imports, but revised them down to between 4.9% and 19.8% on Tuesday.

Benidorm superfans, Roger and Sue Topp, have visited the Spanish beach resort more than 100 times – and this year they’re taking it a step further for their Christmas celebrations

Swapping Turkey for tapas and sprouts for sangria, one UK couple is set to spend Christmas Day in Benidorm – the Spanish seaside resort they’ve visited more than 100 times.

Roger and Sue Topp, from Leicester, have been travelling to Benidorm for more than 35 years and said they practically raised their children there, as it became their “second home.” Roger explained: “We used to do UK holidays, but it was always a gamble with the weather, then we came to Benidorm once, and that was it.

“It’s friendly, clean, safe, and the value is unbelievable. You can get a glass of wine for one to two euros and a full meal for less than you’d spend on a takeaway back home.” In the eyes of the couple, there’s nowhere else that quite compares to Benidorm with its sunshine, entertainment and community.

So much so that they visit the beach town around three times a year, flying from East Midlands Airport, and spend a lengthy period of time during the brisk British winter months. The couple stay at the popular Hotel Rio Park, located just a short 10-minute walk from Benidorm’s lively main strip, and this year it’s where they’ll be spending Christmas.

The couple, who have been married for 55 years, will fly to Benidorm on December 23, which impressively, will be their eighth visit this year alone. Their favourite buffet is already on the agenda, ditching the Brussels sprouts altogether, and they already plan to FaceTime their families at home, before celebrating in the winter sun.

“The first time we tried Christmas over there, we were blown away. The Rio Park Hotel puts on a feast for us, its breakfast, a huge traditional Christmas lunch, entertainment all day, and you can have as much wine and beer as you like. It’s brilliant and takes away so much stress, that’s why we’ve always loved TUI holidays,” they said.

They added: “We just love the Hotel Rio Park, it has everything you need and it is so close to the beach, plus the staff are just amazing and have become lifelong friends”.

When they’re not lapping up the hotel’s facilities, Roger and Sue spend time soaking up the sunshine of one of the sprawling golden sand beaches or wandering around the Old Town. But a Chinese buffet called Puente De Oro, where they can “eat like kings”, is one of their personal highlights.

“We love the Chinese buffet out there, you can get plates piled high and unlimited drinks for 19 euros. The food is fresh, delicious and amazing value. We go there all the time, sometimes there are big groups of 20 of us who are Benidorm regulars,” they revealed.

Not to mention the extensive selection of Tapas they get to devour. “There is a Tapas bar called Zodiac right near the Rio Park Hotel, and it does the most delicious 6 plates of tapas and a bottle of wine for 9 euros. You really can’t beat that. We go back time and time again because the quality is amazing and it’s a great price.”

Having booked their trips to Benidorm with TUI on multiple occasions, they’re well-known at their local store and credit the team for making it so seamless. “We pop in for a chat or a cuppa. They always look after everything for us, and they’ve become like family,” said Roger.

TUI Travel Agent Cameron Morton, who works at the Hinckley store, has been helping the couple book their Benidorm trips for more than a decade. “They’ve been booking with us in-store for around 10 years and usually plan three trips at a time for the year ahead. They love the Rio Park and won’t go anywhere else, they always say it feels like a home from home and that they meet friends there every time,” Cameron shared.

“Benidorm is such a great value destination, with affordable hotels, food and entertainment, which is why it works so well as a destination with TUI.”