Latest / NO FILTER / As China tensions surge_ Taiwan braces for conflict_and watches Washington(MP3_160K)

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As China tensions surge_ Taiwan braces for conflict_and watches Washington(MP3_160K) · NO FILTER

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It's not just Ukraine and the Middle East that are
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: under tremendous pressure overseas.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: It's also the situation.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: In the Far East as China stares down Taiwan with
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: serious ambitions to claim that island as its own. Taiwan's
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: military planners say American support, including weapons steals, are critical
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: in fending off a potential Chinese attack. Let's bring in
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: NBC News International correspondent Jennis Maki Freyer live in Beijing.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Jennis, you got to look at.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: How Taiwan is racing to overhaul its military and get
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Trump's backing.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: What can you tell us.
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: Well make The US has long been a key backer
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: for Taiwan, with billions of dollars in weapons steals. These
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: are purchases, not military aid, as well as US training assistants.
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: Less clear is how far US support would go, namely,
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: would the US defend Taiwan. This is a looming question
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: in Taipei these days, as officials face not only heightened
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: military activity by China around the island, but mixed messaging
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: from the White House. This live fire drill was years
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: in the making, with high precision weapons made in the
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: USA and purchased by Taiwan. These high moms high mobility
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: artillery rocket systems arrived here late last year. The same
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: systems Ukrainian soldiers have been using to target Russian positions.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: Mobile launchers are equipped with guided rockets that can strike
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  Speaker 3: one hundred and eighty five miles away. That's well beyond
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: the southeastern coast of China.
• 1:41
  Speaker 4: More of these.
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  Speaker 5: Rocket systems will be delivered here next year, that's earlier
• 1:45
  Speaker 5: than planned. Part of this race to overhaul Taiwan's defenses
• 1:49
  Speaker 5: Taiwan much, this colonel said, we have one hundred percent
• 1:54
  Speaker 5: confidence in our readiness new equipment and strategy. Taiwan is
• 1:58
  Speaker 5: a self governing demidocracy that Beijing claims as its own.
• 2:03
  Speaker 5: China's president, she Jimping makes no secret of his intentions
• 2:06
  Speaker 5: to unify the island with.
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  Speaker 4: The mainland and won't rule out using fours.
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  Speaker 6: With a huge challenge security challenge from the mainland China,
• 2:15
  Speaker 6: so we have to make ourself very.
• 2:22
  Speaker 7: Will on the combat.
• 2:24
  Speaker 5: Ridden this billions of dollars in US arms deals have
• 2:27
  Speaker 5: been helping Taiwan build up and revamp its defenses with
• 2:31
  Speaker 5: weapons like drones, missiles, and upgraded fighter jets. They've expanded
• 2:38
  Speaker 5: mandatory military service to one year, and reservist training just
• 2:42
  Speaker 5: increased too well, rep I think it's useful and practice
• 2:47
  Speaker 5: as this. Reservist US military personnel are also involved with training,
• 2:52
  Speaker 5: at least dozens of them according to the Pentagon, though
• 2:55
  Speaker 5: an exact number on the ground and.
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: What they do is a bit murky.
• 3:00
  Speaker 5: It's all fundamental to a US mandate to provide Taiwan
• 3:04
  Speaker 5: with weapons and skills to deter any attack by China.
• 3:08
  Speaker 5: Hi Mar's mark a significant step, as well as an
• 3:12
  Speaker 5: intelligence sharing deal with the US.
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: Is it a game changer for Turner? Yet?
• 3:18
  Speaker 5: Now more than ever here there are questions about reliability
• 3:23
  Speaker 5: and whether the US would intervene if China ever invaded.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: Taiwan did take all of our chip business. You know,
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: we used to make our own chips. Now they're made
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: in Taiwan.
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  Speaker 5: Officials in Taipei were rattled first by comments President Trump
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  Speaker 5: made on the campaign trail regarding semiconductors, and then telling
• 3:41
  Speaker 5: Bloomberg in an interview after his inauguration.
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: That Taiwan quote should pay US for defense.
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  Speaker 7: You don't have the cards.
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  Speaker 5: Then came the collapse of US support for Ukraine, and
• 3:52
  Speaker 5: now the threat of steep tariffs on Taiwan's exports, we still.
• 3:57
  Speaker 6: Considered that there is a Kina you know ideas emergent
• 4:04
  Speaker 6: in the US government right now, which voices or narrative
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  Speaker 6: should we listen to.
• 4:10
  Speaker 5: Taiwan's president is pledging this week to buy more American
• 4:14
  Speaker 5: goods as it tries to downplay tariff tensions as friendly friction.
• 4:18
  Speaker 5: But leaning into the anxiety is China ramping up military
• 4:23
  Speaker 5: activity around the island and most recently staging amphibious landing
• 4:28
  Speaker 5: drills in the Taiwan Strait.
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: The head of US Indo Pacific.
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  Speaker 5: Command, Admiral Samuel Paparo, warned that Chinese exercises are not
• 4:37
  Speaker 5: drills but rehearsals, leaving the island looking to Washington for
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  Speaker 5: clues about whether more deals will equal a deterrent for
• 4:46
  Speaker 5: China or just more uncertainty.
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: Taiwan's government boost to defense spending to three percent of
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: the island's budget to show that it is doing more
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  Speaker 3: to defend itself, but President Trump and others in the
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: administration have said it should be ten percent. There is
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: talk of more weapons deals in the works, possibly exceeding
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: what Taiwan bought during.
• 5:05
  Speaker 7: Trump's first term.
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: That's according to Reuters, but again none of it with
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: any guarantees that President Trump will be any more committed
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: than in the past or in the long run.
• 5:15
  Speaker 8: Jonathan NBC's Jennis Mackie fair live for us in Beijing.
• 5:19
  Speaker 8: Thank you so very much, joining us now here in
• 5:22
  Speaker 8: New York. Executive director at the McCain Institute, Doctor Evelyn Farkas.
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  Speaker 8: She is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia,
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  Speaker 8: Ukraine and Eurasia. Good to see you, doctor Fergus. I
• 5:32
  Speaker 8: want to turn to Ukraine just but first a brief
• 5:35
  Speaker 8: bit on this. What is your assessment right now? Just
• 5:38
  Speaker 8: how aggressive do you think Shijinping is going to be?
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  Speaker 8: How is he viewing the landscape, but also his political
• 5:44
  Speaker 8: situation at home factory into whether he makes a move
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  Speaker 8: on Taiwan.
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  Speaker 9: I mean, she is not a risk taker like Vladimir Putin,
• 5:51
  Speaker 9: but he's clearly watching our diplomacy. I know we're going
• 5:54
  Speaker 9: to talk about Russia Ukraine because he's looking to see
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  Speaker 9: is the United States willing to stand up and stand
• 5:59
  Speaker 9: by you.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: If we waiver, he will be more.
• 6:02
  Speaker 9: Embolden to take action against Taiwan. And he's clearly probing
• 6:05
  Speaker 9: to see what kind of advantage he can take. He's
• 6:09
  Speaker 9: moving more incrementally, so he's moving in closer and closer
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  Speaker 9: to Taiwan, trying to take away their freedom of action,
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  Speaker 9: their freedom of maneuver. And this is what Admiral Paparo
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  Speaker 9: is warning about. These are not dress rehearsals. So I
• 6:21
  Speaker 9: think we have to really make sure that we're telegraphing
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  Speaker 9: clearly deterrent messages frankly from the White House.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, that's what the reporting's saying.
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  Speaker 7: So let's turn out to Ukraine.
• 6:30
  Speaker 8: I have a long piece co author with Ashley Parker
• 6:33
  Speaker 8: in The Atlantic Today about the state of how the
• 6:35
  Speaker 8: White House is viewing this conflict in President Trump a
• 6:38
  Speaker 8: week or so back, sort of really single.
• 6:39
  Speaker 7: He's going to step.
• 6:40
  Speaker 8: Back from diplomatic efforts, which is set off a lot
• 6:43
  Speaker 8: of alarm of bells. But he is, we report privately,
• 6:46
  Speaker 8: unhappy with with Vladimir Putin. He does fee a little
• 6:48
  Speaker 8: bit humiliated here that Russia continues to ignore US calls
• 6:51
  Speaker 8: for a ceasefire.
• 6:53
  Speaker 7: Ukraine and Russia are meeting next week. Again, Andy stumbled
• 6:55
  Speaker 7: us not involved.
• 6:56
  Speaker 8: We're told that President Trump wants to see some progress there,
• 7:00
  Speaker 8: or he might again emphasize might actually take action against
• 7:04
  Speaker 8: Russia with some sanctions.
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  Speaker 7: We know there's a big bill in the Senate.
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  Speaker 8: But if past his prologue he's never stood up the
• 7:10
  Speaker 8: Putin before, do you think you would now?
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: Maybe?
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  Speaker 9: I mean, if he really wants progress, the only way
• 7:15
  Speaker 9: he's going to get at Jonathan is to put.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: Pressure on Putin. What does that mean?
• 7:19
  Speaker 9: It means he doesn't show up until the Russians give
• 7:21
  Speaker 9: him whatever their memorandum is that they owe him, and frankly,
• 7:25
  Speaker 9: I don't think the Ukrainians should either. Second, he's got
• 7:28
  Speaker 9: a huge advantage that was handed to him by Senator
• 7:30
  Speaker 9: Lindsay Graham and eighty two senators who are waiting with
• 7:34
  Speaker 9: this sword, you know, this threat that the President can
• 7:37
  Speaker 9: lodge at Russia to say, if you guys don't make
• 7:40
  Speaker 9: a piece deal, we have hard sanctions coming, and this
• 7:43
  Speaker 9: sanctions bill that the Senate has proposed, and they, like
• 7:46
  Speaker 9: I said, they have eighty two co signatories, they're ready
• 7:49
  Speaker 9: to go with it. It's secondary sanctions. This would really
• 7:52
  Speaker 9: hurt Russia. And we can't underscore the fact that Russia
• 7:55
  Speaker 9: is weak economically and militarily. It might look like they're
• 7:59
  Speaker 9: not because they blow US, but sanctions would hurt them.
• 8:02
  Speaker 9: The other thing, of course, is assistance to Ukraine. President
• 8:05
  Speaker 9: Trump can offer to do more there.
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  Speaker 8: That takes me to my final question here is that
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  Speaker 8: there's a sense that people I've talked to that if
• 8:11
  Speaker 8: the US steps away from diplomatic efforts, certainly that's an
• 8:14
  Speaker 8: advantage to Russia. There seems like they're launching their summer
• 8:17
  Speaker 8: offensive now. But as long as the intel sharing continues
• 8:20
  Speaker 8: and the assistance goes, there's the sense that Ukraine, with
• 8:22
  Speaker 8: Europe's help, can weather the storm.
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  Speaker 7: But how concerned would you be if Trump pulls that
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  Speaker 7: back to I.
• 8:28
  Speaker 9: Would be really concerned. I do think the Europeans are
• 8:31
  Speaker 9: making a difference, and seeing the German Chancellor Merits out
• 8:34
  Speaker 9: there talking very robustly and making a real commitment to
• 8:39
  Speaker 9: technology transfer and working with Ukraine on creating more munitions,
• 8:42
  Speaker 9: long range munitions.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: That's serious.
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  Speaker 9: But that will take time, Jonathan, And we need to
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  Speaker 9: help them with air defense. I mean, remember what Putin's
• 8:49
  Speaker 9: doing is attacking civilians and those are our Patriot missiles
• 8:53
  Speaker 9: that protect the Ukrainians.
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  Speaker 5: And ev What do you say to people who are
• 8:57
  Speaker 5: skeptical when you try to connect our response in Ukraine too,
• 9:02
  Speaker 5: What might happen in Taiwan.
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  Speaker 9: Well, I just say, look at what the Ukrainian sorry,
• 9:08
  Speaker 9: look at what the Russians and the Chinese say about
• 9:10
  Speaker 9: their relationship. They're working closely together. They believe their strategic allies.
• 9:15
  Speaker 9: China loves the fact that Russia is waging this war
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  Speaker 9: in Ukraine and distracting the United States and our allies
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  Speaker 9: to include our Asian allies.
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  Speaker 2: And making them nervous.
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  Speaker 9: So clearly that the Chinese and the Russians, along with
• 9:28
  Speaker 9: the Iranians and North Koreans are working in concert