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Chinese Warship Harasses U.S. Naval Destroyer In Taiwan Strait; Ukraine Giving Drones To Sabotage Cells In Russia; Newsom: FL Flew Migrants By Private Jet To CA; Directors Get New Contract Amid Writers Strike. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired June 05, 2023 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[13:32:11]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: A Chinese warship came dangerously close to a U.S. Navy warship in international waters. This was in the Taiwan Strait where the U.S. was conducting a joint exercise with Canada.

The Navy released this video of the Chinese warship cutting right in front, you can see there, of the U.S. Navy destroyer. The U.S. says the Chinese were being reckless. China blames the U.S. for being there in the first place.

There is the moment the two warships nearly collided from afar. Again, about 150 yards between them. We should be clear, at sea at these speeds, that's very, very close.

Joining me now, retired Navy captain, Sam Tangredi. He's the chair of Future Warfare Studies at the U.S. Naval War College.

Good to have you on, sir.

CAPT. SAM TANGREDI, U.S. NAVY, RETIRED & LEIDOS CHAIR, FUTURE WARFARE STUDIES, U.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: First, let's talk about how this happens. By the way, just a few days after a Chinese fighter jet came right in front of the U.S. surveillance jet in the South China Sea.

This has not happened by accident. This is not a Navy captain freelancing. It is part of a broader Chinese strategy. What is that in your view?

TANGREDI: Well, China wants to establish the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as its internal waters. And it does not want any vessels going through that without their permission. Of course, that violates international law.

The reason we conduct these transits is specifically to support international law. One of the principals in international law is, if you don't use your rights, they will eventually go away. So that's what we're trying to do, continue that. SCIUTTO: Now, the problem is China doesn't recognize international law

here. It didn't in the South China Sea when it took territory claimed by half a dozen different countries and built island that's have become military installations.

China doesn't recognize the law. The U.S. wants to demonstrate this is the law. These are international waters. That's -- your immovable object meeting an irresistible forceful. Where does that leave the U.S. And China?

TANGREDI: Well, there was an excellent quote from the Chinese foreign minister in dealing with the other Asian nations that, as far as the South China Sea is concerned, they are small nations, we are big nations they'd better get used to it.

So China wants to see the international law as basically the strong do as they will. The weak suffer as they must. That is their vision. Because they are strong.

And that will have a collision with the United States because we would like, prefer an international order in which all nations have access based on what they can achieve to resources in space and the oceans.

[13:35:10]

SCIUTTO: Does that lead to the risk of war?

TANGREDI: Well, yes. The risk of war is -- now, the risk of war will not be from these incidents. I've taken a look at various incidents similar to this in which there has been some sort of incident. For example, Soviets shooting down the Korean airliner.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

TANGREDI: Iraq shooting down the Iranian airliner in the '80s. None of those resulted in war.

But the problem is the that Chinese Communist Party will always feel threatened by successful democracies.

Because they look at the future and they say, a day will come when the Chinese people are more prosperous, saying, OK, we're prosperous. These democratic nations are prosperous, too. They get to vote. We don't get to vote.

So it is in the interests of the Chinese Communist Party to, in any way they can, cut down the power of democratic nations in the international system. Particularly the United States.

SCIUTTO: Before we go, you've been on the deck of ships like this before. How difficult is to it operate under these conditions? You're steering at your destroyer. You want to protect your crew and the ship itself.

How close a call was this? TANGREDI: Oh, well, people look at 150 yards and say that's plenty of

time and space to maneuver. But we have to remember, the "USS Chung- Hoon" is 1,000 tons at 160 yards. And let's talk about trying to stop a vessel in its length, which you probably can't do with your car on the highway.

And this would not be like a car accident. This is like two buildings colliding together. So it is very difficult.

In the open ocean, we prefer to keep about 2,000 yards away from other transiting ships. Maybe as near as perhaps 1,000 yards. But generally, that's about as close as you need to come in the open ocean.

The Taiwan Straits are 150 nautical miles wide. There is no reason for ships to have to pass that close unless it is a deliberate provocation.

SCIUTTO: I've been on ships during coordinated exercises with ships under the same command. If they get even close to them. They're doing it very gingerly and in constant communication. Different in this case.

Captain Tangredi, thank you so much for joining us today.

Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Staying with the focus on international news. A CNN exclusive is revealing how Ukraine is leveraging Russians against Russia.

Sources say Ukraine has cultivated agents and sympathizers inside Putin's borders to carry out sabotage against the Kremlin's forces.

It is not clear if this network is behind the eight drones shot down over the skies of Moscow last week but U.S. officials believe the agents did launch a drone at the Kremlin in early May.

Let's bring in CNN national security reporter, Zach Cohen. He's part of the team that broke this story.

Zach, what are your sources telling you about how Ukraine is obtaining these drones?

ZACH COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Boris, we're learning this network was not cultivated by Ukraine but the Ukrainians are providing them with drones that can be used the carry out the sabotage attacks.

It's not immediately clear, based on the officials we spoke to, said how they're getting these drones behind enemy lines.

We have two sources that point out that there are well-established smuggling routes from Ukraine into Russia that could be used to basically ship drone parts into Russia and to be configured later once across the border.

A European intelligence official also mentioned that had the border between Ukraine and Russia is very large and very hard to control.

They noted, too, this is a peripheral area of Russia where survival is key. Take a look at this quote. "Survival is everyone's problem so cash works wonders."

That just speaks to the level of chaos and the level of self- preservation happening in this sort of No Man's Land of the border between Ukraine and Russia.

And regardless of how the drones are getting behind enemy lines, it speaks to how Ukraine is trying to take the war to Russia at a time when we know they're planning a counteroffensive come this spring.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's set to be any day now so we're watching what happens there very closely.

Zach Cohen, that you so much for your reporting. Appreciate it.

Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: California officials are trying to figure out who sent a plane full of migrants from Texas to Sacramento. We have the latest on that investigation ahead.

[13:39:45]

And Saudi Arabia says it is slashing its oil output. We'll show you why this could mean higher gas prices for the busy summer travel season.

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KEILAR: California is investigating what the state attorney general describes as state-sanctioned kidnapping. Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were flown to Sacramento and dropped off at a Catholic Church. Governor Newsom said the paper trail extends all the way to Florida.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is here to sort all of this out for us.

Tell us what you have discovered so far as you have California's attorney general calling this immoral and disgusting.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brianna. Attorney General Bonta is pointing the finger at the state of Florida, saying he believes Florida is behind this. Specifically because these migrants had documents with them that purport to be from Florida government.

[13:45:03]

He is also blaming Vertol Systems Company, Inc. This is a vendor, an aviation company that we heard of this name before. Last year, during the fall, this is the same aviation company that carried up flights from Texas, migrant flights, over to Martha's Vineyard. About two planes, 50 people were sent over to Martha's Vineyard. Hear more from the attorney general.

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ROB BONTA, (D), CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: We believe that the state of Florida is involved. And one of their vendors that they hired with an official budgetary allotment, called Virtol Systems, was involved in moving these migrants from Texas to New Mexico, then to Sacramento.

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ROSALES: And we spoke with Cecelia Flores. She is an organizer with Sacramento ACT, a nonprofit that is helping out these migrants.

She said they were shaken. They were confused. That they were told that they were approached by individuals representing a private contractor saying that if they agreed to come with them and move over to a migrant center, they would be helped with getting a job, with resources, with shelter, with clothing.

Many of them told her that they had no idea where they were going or even that Sacramento was in the state of California.

Brianna, also new information. The Lawyers for Civil Rights, the same attorneys representing the immigrants in the Martha's Vineyard situation, they sued DeSantis and also Virtol.

Those attorneys are now on the ground in Sacramento providing legal assistance to the migrants there. And seeing, potentially, I'm told, if they are the right fit to join the class-action lawsuit against DeSantis. Against Virtol as well.

I spoke with the director. Listen.

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OREN SELLSTROM, LITIGATION DIRECTOR, LAWYERS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS: Already we know just from the public record that there was immense fraud and misrepresentation, as behind the Martha's Vineyard flights. That is the same kind of factual information that we are now seeking to uncover in California.

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ROSALES: Brianna, we've been trying to assess more information.

We've gone through several documents that are public records from the state of California that indicate, we reported, that back in May, the state also chose two other vendors, ARS Global Emergency Management, and Gardarol Federal Services (ph), to execute this migrant relocation program.

It really raises the question, are we looking at potentially more flights here?

Plus, in some of these documents, there was communication between the state and the vendor. And one vendor who was unnamed also suggested Georgia and New York as possible destinations -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Great reporting for us.

Isabel, thank you for that.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. And here's a look at some of the other headlines we are following this hour.

Eight days since that terrible building collapse in Davenport, Iowa. Now search teams say they have recovered the bodies of the final two missing victims, Ryan Hitchcock and Daniel Prien.

Search teams recovered the body of another victim over the weekend, Brandon Colvin Sr. His son had been camping outside the site for days waiting for news. Colvin's remains were discovered just hours before his son's high school graduation.

Also, a popular meercat was killed in an overnight fire at the Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia. Officials say nine other animals were rescued.

The fire broke out in a workshop area and quickly spread to other parts of the zoo. Several structures were destroyed. No employees were injured.

And a major announcement after OPEC nations met in Vienna over the weekend. Saudi Arabia said it is slashing its oil production once again by another by another one million barrels a day. That starts in July.

The news shot up crude oil prices by some 2 percent today. And there are growing fears that OPEC's plans could cause gas prices to spike here during the busy summer travel season.

The White House says it is focused on trying to keep those prices down.

Boris?

[13:49:14]

SANCHEZ: Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, Hollywood on hold. While writers are stuck on a picket line, another key group now has a deal with its union. Could that help end the strike that has shut down so many shows? That story straight ahead.

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SANCHEZ: The show will go on. At least for Hollywood directors. As the writers strike reaches its fifth week, the Directors' Guild of America just reached a tentative three-year deal for a new contract with studio executives.

CNN entertainment reporter, Chloe Melas, is with us right now. Chloe, did the Directors' Guild get everything they wanted for their members?

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: It appears so. In a statement to CNN, they are calling it a "truly historic deal."

So there are 19,000 individuals in this Directors' Guild. I want to break down exactly what they got.

What they got was, first, with wages. They wanted to see a bump. They got that. A 5 percent increase in the first year. And in this three- year deal, you'll see it descend slightly each year after that.

[13:55:58]

Also, assistant directors are going to have their workdays cut by an hour. We've been hearing from people not just from the Directors' Guild but the Writers Guild, of being overworked, underpaid. So that is that.

Also, safety improvements, I want to go there. They are banning live ammunition on the set.

This is coming, Boris, just a year after Alec Baldwin, on the set "Rust," accidentally killed cinematographer, Helena Hutchins, when a live round of ammunition was fired from the prop gun that he was holding.

Also, something that we're hearing from members of all the guilds is how to address artificial intelligence.

In this agreement, which is tentative and subject to a board approval meeting tomorrow, and they're hoping it will go through, is that it says in there, a clause, that A.I. is not people, right, and that A.I. cannot replace people.

Whether or not that turns out to be the case in the years to come, that should ease some fears for anybody in that guild.

And the other thing is residuals, when it comes to streaming. That's something we heard from many members in the Directors' Guild is that they wanted the receding residuals to be reflected on the amount of people that are watching streaming.

That's hard to do because you don't really know how many clicks and how many people are always watching, and that has been one of the major complaints.

But the Writers Guild came out and said that they support this deal, but they are still going to hold out for the terms they want that best helps them.

SANCHEZ: Yes. We'll see how this deal may potentially shape their own, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Chloe Melas, thank you so much for that. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Well, ahead, Donald Trump's lawyers pay a visit to the Department of Justice as the special counsel weighs whether to recommend charging the former president. What does this mean for the investigation and how soon? That's coming up.

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