Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Trump vs. Biden: Presidential Race Heats Up; Missile Strike Near Ukrainian President; Navalny's Widow Calls for Protests in Russia; Haiti Gripped by Escalating Violence; Deadly Houthi Attacks in Yemen; Starvation Crisis Grips Gaza; UN Accuses Israel of Starving Palestinians; Economy, Foreign Affairs in Focus at China Gathering; Philippines and China Face off in Territorial Dispute. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired March 07, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00]
(COMMERICAL BREAK)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away.
VAUSE: Can Donald Trump put aside the nasty insults, the schoolyard bullying, and his lust for revenge to win over Republicans who voted for Nikki Haley?
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: They don't care where they strike.
VAUSE: A Russian missile strike lands within a few hundred meters of the leaders of Ukraine and Greece during their meeting in the port city of Odessa.
UNKNOWN: Death is better than this.
VAUSE: Children in Gaza. Vulnerable. Innocent. Dying from starvation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The sequel which almost no one wanted is now the only show in town. A November rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Now slugging it out in earnest for the White House. While both are yet to receive the majority of delegates need to be their party's presumptuous nominee, that is now a mathematical formality after both dominated voting on Super Tuesday. The U.S. president has the opportunity to come out swinging when he delivers the State of the Union to Congress Thursday night.
Earlier, he released a statement saying Americans have a chance to move forward or allow Trump to, quote, drag us backwards into the chaos. And for Donald Trump, now that his last rival Nikki Haley has suspended her campaign, there's been a string of high-profile endorsements with many calling for party unity. But for now, it's not clear if those who voted for Haley will hear that call and support Trump come Election Day. Or can they be convinced to vote for Joe Biden? With 243 days until the election, CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more now on the challenges facing both Biden and Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The curtain finally goes up on a historic presidential rematch. Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Emerging from Super Tuesday primaries as the effective nominees of their parties. But there are warning signs in winning, with both men facing distinct challenges of rebuilding their coalitions. Nikki Haley, the last standing Republican rival, suspended her campaign without offering an endorsement.
HALEY: It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that.
ZELENY (voice-over): After months of warning Republicans about Trump's vulnerabilities, she bluntly said the burden is on the former president to win over her supporters and unify the party.
HALEY: At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people. This is now his time for choosing.
ZELENY (voice-over): Any fence-bending got off to a rocky start, with Trump saying on social media, Nikki Haley got trounced last night in record-setting fashion. President Biden struck a different note and extended his hand, saying, Donald Trump made it clear he doesn't want Nikki Haley's supporters. I want to be clear. There is a place for them in my campaign. It's far from certain where Haley voters, ultimately, will go. But an analysis of CNN exit polls from five states found only 19 percent said they would be satisfied with Trump as the nominee, and 79 percent dissatisfied. In the closing days of the primary, voters expressed the challenges of unity.
MARTIN GREEN, REPUBLICAN VOTER: Trump can't win without her supporters. You know, and calling her names isn't going to help him win.
ZELENY (voice-over): Do you worry that some of her supporters may go to Biden?
UNKNOWN: Maybe third party.
ZELENY (voice-over): Eight months before the general election, the Republican Party is rallying around Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: November 5th is going to go down as the single most important day in the history of our country.
ZELENY (voice-over): Senator Mitch McConnell, who hasn't spoken to Trump in more than three years, offered his endorsement, saying, it should come as no surprise that as the nominee, he will have my support. After a string of Democratic primary victories, President Biden is preparing to make his case at the State of the Union address on Thursday, a primetime opportunity to tackle myriad challenges he faces, to win re-election.
Biden easily swept away long-shot rivals like Dean Phillips, but a series of protest votes made clear he faces the task of uniting Democrats, too. Like in Minnesota on Tuesday, where uncommitted received 19 percent of the vote. With a general election contest finally taking shape, history will be tested anew, as Trump seeks to become the first president since Grover Cleveland was voted out of office to be sent back for a second term.
[00:05:09]
ZELENTY: So, the sequel between Biden and Trump will play out in a far different political context. And there are wild cards galore from Trump's criminal cases to Biden's foreign policy challenges and the fitness of both of these presidential candidates. There is no doubt these primaries have shown the vulnerabilities of both campaigns and both candidates. There's no modern-day historical guide for the campaign that is to come, but it starts now. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Join me now, CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Alice Stewart, who's also host of the podcast Hot Mics from Left to Right. It's good to see you.
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You too, John. Great to be here.
VAUSE: Okay, so when it comes to Republicans like yourself, on Super Tuesday, a 55 percent majority of voters in Virginia's Republican primary, this does not include you, said Trump would be fit to be president even if convicted of a crime. Alongside larger minorities, majorities rather, of Republican voters in North Carolina and California, those voters overwhelmingly supported Trump. So, Trump's legal troubles have often been a reason why many were backing Haley.
Even though they knew she couldn't win, they still lodged a protest vote for her, which seems to indicate just how deep their opposition to Trump is. So, I think that's a good point. I think that's a good point. I think that's a good point. But is it deep enough for them to stay home on Election Day? Or more importantly, is it deep enough for them to actually vote for a Democrat?
STEWART: I think a couple of things to point out. Look, I think the reason you're seeing so many Republican voters say that even if Donald Trump were convicted of a crime, they would still vote for him, that's because his base and the core members of the Republican base thinks that all of these legal issues are all the same and they are weaponization of liberal justices. And Donald Trump is a victim of overzealous liberal prosecutors and justices. And all of the legal issues are simply going after him because he is the main challenger to Joe Biden. All that's not true, but that's what his base thinks.
And so, a conviction isn't anything more than the product of him being a victim of weaponization of the DOJ. That's why you're seeing many Republicans say, if he's convicted, I'm still going to vote for him. But I think there's more to it than that as to why many voters supported Nikki Haley. And look, in many states, she got 30, 40 percent of the electorate in these states. And that's not insignificant. There are a lot of people in the Republican Party that were looking for something different than Donald Trump. And a large part of that, some of it is the legal issues. Some of it is they're tired of the drama and the chaos that follows him.
Many of them were really frustrated and disgusted, quite frankly, with what he did on January 6th in the attempt to stop the certification of the election and the insurrection we saw at the Capitol. And they're looking for a new generation.
VAUSE: And if you look at that demographic, these Haley voters, they are moderate. They are college educated. They are suburban voters. And, you know, there wasn't enough of them to stop Donald Trump from getting the nomination, looks like at this point anyway. But it certainly seems there could be enough of them at the end of the day to stop him from being president. Is that true?
STEWART: If you underestimate Donald Trump, you really don't understand Republican voters. Republican voters that supported Donald Trump, they don't care about the legal issues. They don't care about the drama. They don't care about the chaos. They don't care about what happened on January 6th. They're looking at what impacts them. They think that Donald Trump's policies help the economy, help secure the border helped with foreign policy and helped with education and energy independence.
And that's a big issue that Donald Trump talked about in his -- when he secured Super Tuesday. Many of the victories there. So, they look at the policies that Donald Trump reflects, and that's why they're supporting them.
VAUSE: This group of voters is Haley thought, as I think they seem to be up for grabs, if you like, for both the Trump camp and the Biden campaign. Biden was quick to congratulate Haley. He talked about common ground. This was just after Super Tuesday and after she essentially ended her campaign. While on Truth Social Trump pointed out that Haley got trounced last night in record setting fashion.
He then went on to invite her supporters to join the greatest movement in the history of our nation. I'm wondering if there's a choice here for the Biden campaign. Do they invest resources in going after and trying to win over those voters who supported Haley, who are essentially Republicans, or do they take that time, and do they focus on turnout? On the coalition, which effectively sent Biden to the White House back in 2020? Try and motivate those voters and get them to the polls rather than trying to win over new ones?
[00:10:09] The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee has a massive war chest, John, and they can do some of both. And they're going to do polling. They're going to do research and see where's the best allocation of the resources. But we can tell based on how he responded to Nikki Haley suspending her campaign and doing an outreach to her voters goes to show that that is a priority.
But another challenge he has is there's a lot of division and fracture within the Democratic Party. We're seeing that with Gaza and what we're seeing with concern over the Israel situation. So, he needs to also bring about his base and his party. And we're looking at a lot of polls. The enthusiasm surrounding Joe Biden is not quite as high as Donald Trump. So, their best investment is to try and go after the Nikki Haley voters, but also secure their base.
VAUSE: Alice Stewart, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your insights. Have a good night. Thank you.
STWEART: Thanks, John. You too.
VAUSE: A deadly Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa Wednesday came within a few hundred meters of the Ukrainian president and the visiting Greek prime minister. Ukrainian officials say five people were killed in the missile attack. The Greek prime minister says he heard a loud explosion just as he was about to leave the city in President Zelenskyy's motorcade. One source says the force of the blast was felt by those traveling in the official convoy. Zelenskyy often tours areas close to the front lines. There have been a number of close calls over the past two years, but this, they say, is the closest so far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY (through translator): We saw this strike today. You can see who we are facing. They don't care where they strike. They don't care whether they are military or civilians. Whoever they are, whether they are international guests, these people don't care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: More details now about this deadly attack on Odessa by CNN's Fred Pleitgen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not clear whether the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was the target of this attack, but it certainly appears to have been a pretty close call. A source with knowledge of the situation tells CNN that the impact of this missile appears to have been about 500 meters away from the Greek prime minister, which is essentially also the same area that the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was as well.
The Greeks are saying that the prime minister of Greece was in Odessa on a surprise visit, that he had been getting a tour of the port of Odessa from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Greek prime minister of the importance of that port for Ukraine, of course, for goods that the Ukrainians continue to want to import and export. And the Greek side said that as the leaders were getting back into their car, that at that point they heard a very loud explosion.
The Ukrainian president, for his part, is going a step further even than that. He said that they saw the missile and they even felt the impact because the impact was so close. Originally, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said that he knew that there had been killed and wounded in the attack, but he said at that point he didn't have more information than that. Well, the Ukrainian Navy has since then come out and said that five people were killed and that there were people wounded, even though they have not given specifics as to how many people exactly were wounded in all this.
Of course, Odessa, that port town in the south of Ukraine, has been taking a lot of hits from Russian drones and Russian missiles for the past couple of months. And just on March 2nd, there was a big drone attack that killed several people in that town. The Russians, for their part, have acknowledged that they did strike Odessa and the port area. They claim that they hit a warehouse in which were, unmanned sea drones.
Now, all this comes not very long after the Ukrainians said that they had sunk a Russian warship using sea drones. So, it's unclear whether or not this was retaliation by the Russians, but it certainly does appear as though this was a very concerning situation for the Ukrainians. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has called for nationwide protests during the upcoming presidential election. In a social media post on Wednesday, Navalyaya described Russia's leadership as a cult and praised supporters who attended her husband's funeral last week. She also urged Russians to show up at the polls at noon local time, March 17th, the final day of voting, and hold rallies against President Vladimir Putin. The election is widely seen as a formality, with Putin fully expected to secure a fifth term, but Navalnaya still wants Russian voters to take a stand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YULIA NAVALNAYA, WIDOW OF OPPOSITION LEADER ALEXEI NAVALNY (through translator): We can still use that so-called election against Putin to achieve our goals. Alexei himself told us how to do it. We need to use the election day to show that we exist and there are many of us. We are real, we are alive. We exist and we are against Putin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[00:15:19]
VAUSE: Joining us this hour now from New York is exiled Kremlin critic and political activist Garry Kasparov, who many will remember as the world's former chess champion. Mr. Kasparov, thank you for taking the time to speak with us.
Thank you for inviting me.
VAUSE: You're welcome. Now, the Russian financial watchdog, RosfinMonitoring (ph), has now included your name on a list of terrorists and extremists. They issue no specific reason, but this listing puts limits on individuals' bank transactions and forces them to seek approval every time they want to use their accounts. So, there is a real-world impact from this. Why do you think they did this? Is it just sort of state-sponsored harassment because of your activism and your criticism of Vladimir Putin?
GARY KASPAROV, FORMER WORLD CHESS CHAMPION: I think it's obvious. They use every tool at their disposal to silence the criticism. Of course, it doesn't affect me directly because I live in exile for 11 years, but it's still a message to others. And many of my colleagues who are in exile as well, so they already got this honor to be called terrorists and extremists. And it reminds us, as it was living inside the George Orwell book, 1984, freedom with slavery, war is peace, ignorance is strength. So those who are killing people, those who are real terrorists and murderers like Putin and his gang, they are calling us, those who have been advocating peaceful transition for democracy in Russia, terrorists.
VAUSE: Yeah, as you know, firsthand, taking a stand against Putin can come with a cost, often a great cost. And with that in mind, I want you to listen to a little more from Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, and her call for an election day protest. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAVALNAYA (through translator): We need to come to the polling station on the same day and time, noon of March 17. It is up to you to choose what to do next. You can vote for any candidate but Putin. You can spoil the ballot. You can write on it in big letters, Navalny.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I'd like to get your thoughts on this protest. Do you support it? What sort of impact could it potentially have?
KASPAROV: Look, it's a personal choice. And of course, if somebody wants to protest against Putin's regime by showing up at the polling station and writing Navalny's capital letters, it's fine. But my position was very consistent for the last 11 years. I did not recognize the legitimacy of this regime. I believe our best strategy is to continue our policy to delegitimize the regime and insisting that the foreign powers will eventually call Putin, who he is, a murderer and criminal, a dictator, not a duly elected president.
So, that's why, to me and those who are following me, my supporters, so the boycott is the best solution. But it doesn't mean that others should also follow us if they think that they can express their disagreement with the Putin regime in a different way. But of course, we should recognize that any form of active protest in Russia is being punished. You can end up in prison for a few years just publishing a tweet. So doing something at a polling station the day that when Putin is preparing his electoral triumph, it's quite risky. So that's why, again, I leave it for any individual to make his or her own decision how they want to protest.
VAUSE: You know, your opposition to Vladimir Putin is well known. You're one of the Russian president's most outspoken, one of his best- known critics. I wonder, from your perspective, how do you see this leadership role, which is being taken on by Yulia Navalnaya, trying to fill the role left behind by her late husband? Do you see this as one way the opposition in Russia can coalesce and come together. How can you see her moving forward with the opposition movement here?
KASPAROV: Look, you just said opposition within Russia is none. Russia today is no different from Nazi Germany 80 years ago. It's a fascist dictatorship, and any, not just opposition act, not just protest, but any act of disloyalty could be punished most severely. So, we have to talk about opposition outside of Russia. We have to work on something that we call Russian virtual Taiwan, creating new metrics of Russian state from those Russians who are willing to take a stand and to disassociate ourselves from Putin's dictatorship.
As for the leadership position for any opposition activist, it's very important to talk about policies. And my policy and policy of those who I've been working with, like Michael Khodorkovsky, was very simple. Victory for Ukraine, freedom for Russia. So, it would be very good if Yulia Navalnaya will be very, very explicit answering this question, because as we know, her late husband, absolute hero, who sacrificed his life for the future of my country, he was quite ambiguous until lately in expressing his views towards the future of Russian Empire. We believe that the best way to offer future for our country is to dismantle the imperial mechanism of governance that have been tormenting my country and the neighbors for hundreds of years.
[00:20:29]
VAUSE: Navalny certainly had an uneasy relationship with the Ukrainians, to say the least. Mr. Kasparov, thank you so much for being with us. We very much appreciate your time.
KASPAROV: Thank you very much for having me.
VAUSE: Still ahead here on CNN, first blood. Despite weeks of U.S. airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, Houthi attacks on commercial shipping have now turned deadly. Also ahead, a UN official says it's an alarm like no other. Children in Gaza, are starving to death.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: As violence surges across Haiti, the U.S. is calling on Prime Minister Ariel Henry to urgently establish a Presidential Transitional Council, which should clear the way to hold elections. But in the capital, Port-au-Prince, there's been a wave of coordinated gang attacks on police stations and government buildings, which is part of the unrest. Here's the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLKER TURK, U.N. HIGH COMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: I urge the international community to act swiftly and decisively to prevent Haiti's further descent into chaos. This situation is beyond untenable for the people of Haiti.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Last weekend, thousands of inmates from two prisons were set free by criminal gangs, part of an attempt to overthrow Henri's government. The gang leader, known as Barbecue, says Haiti will suffer a genocide if Prime Minister Henry remains in power.
U.S. Central Command says it conducted strikes on two drones in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, hours after Houthi missiles killed three crew members of a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden Wednesday. According to U.S. officials, these are the first deaths since the Iran-backed Houthis began missile attacks in response to Israel's war in Gaza and in support, they say, of the Palestinian people. At least four others were injured in that attack. Three of them remain in a critical condition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPT. SPOKESPERSON: I think that it was sadly inevitable. The Houthis have continued to launch these reckless attacks with no regard for the well-being of innocent civilians who are transiting through the Red Sea, and now they have unfortunately and tragically killed innocent civilians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: U.S. Central Command says it was the fifth anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Houthis in the past two days. One attack struck and damaged a Swiss-owned container ship, also in the Gulf of Aden, that was Monday. A 15-year-old boy died in Gaza City Wednesday, one of at least 20 to have died from starvation and dehydration in the Gulf of Aden. The incident has been reported to the U.S. Department of Defense since the war began. That's according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
[00:25:19]
CNN's Nada Bashir now (ph) reports that parents are burying their children as hospitals run out of food and other supplies and food just is critically short across the territory. Well, these images of their reality are very distressing. The mothers we spoke to say they want the world to see what's happening.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORT (voice-over): Tiny limbs, bones protruding, the constant sound of crying from children now facing starvation in Gaza. In this overrun hospital ward, anxious mothers watch on as doctors provide whatever care they still can. But, for some, there is nothing more to be done. Three-year-old Mila, who had been suffering from acute malnutrition, now another victim of this merciless war. She was healthy. There was nothing wrong with her before, Mila's mother says. Then suddenly, everything dropped. She wasn't eating anything. We had no milk, no eggs, nothing. She used to eat eggs every day before the war, but now we have nothing. Across Gaza, too many are feeling the pain of this deepening hunger crisis. Small children, emaciated and malnourished. These were little Yazan's final moments. His tiny fingers gripped in his mother's hand. He, like Mila, would not make it. Others are still just barely holding on.
But there is no telling how long they will survive. Standing beside Mila's body, Dr Ahmed Salem says many children at this hospital are now dying due to a lack of food and oxygen supplies. With limited aid getting in, many have grown desperate, searching for food wherever they can. Nine-year-old Mohammed says he walks for about a mile every day to collect water for his family. He seems sad. Why, this journalist asks him. Because of the war, he says. It is all too much.
On Tuesday, UN experts accused Israel of intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza. Noting that the Israeli military is now targeting both civilians seeking aid and humanitarian convoys. Israel has denied targeting civilians and says that there is, quote, no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. But the reality on the ground paints a very different picture. There is no food, no water, no flour, cooking oil, or anything, this woman says. Death is better than this.
According to a senior UN official, at least a quarter of Gaza's population is now said to be just one step away from famine. With aid agencies facing overwhelming obstacles in getting the bare minimum of supplies into Gaza and as Israel's grand offensive threatens to push further into the strip's densely populated south, time is quickly running out. While international efforts to airdrop humanitarian supplies have provided some respite, it is simply not enough.
With stalling negotiations leaving little hope for an end to the suffering and hunger of the Palestinian people. In Gaza, Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
[00:31:34]
It's foreign affairs day at the National People's Congress in Beijing. And that means the foreign minister, Wang Yi, answered questions from foreign reporters at an event which looked almost like a news conference.
He addressed issues of Taiwan and tensions in the South China Sea. Also, China's struggling economy remains a big talking point, as well.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us live from Hong Kong, following all the developments there. And well, he kind of raised a few eyebrows when he talked about U.S.-China relations and said what? The U.S. has it all wrong. They're mistaken.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Yes, this is what the foreign minister said. Wang Yi accused the U.S. of suppressing China to the point of reaching, quote, "bewildering levels."
He was speaking earlier today at the National People's Congress in Beijing. He also said that China opposes all acts of power and bullying. And those comments came right on the heels of Chinese leader Xi Jinping calling to mobilize, quote, "patriots" to oppose Taiwan independence.
Now, in questions with reporters that took place today, Wang commented on the U.S.-China relationship. And he called for mutual respect in the U.S.-China relationship. He also acknowledged there has been some improvement in relations since recent summits, especially the APEC summit in San Francisco, but he also said this. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WANG YI, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER: But it has to be pointed out that U.S. misperception toward China continues, and U.S. promises are not truly fulfilled. The U.S. has been devising various tactics to suppress China and kept lengthening its unilateral sanctions list, reaching bewildering levels of unfathomable absurdity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Some pretty strong language there from China's top diplomat.
You know, the U.S. and China, they've been at odds over a number of issues, including what he mentioned: sanctions and access to technology, as well as territorial disputes in the South China Sea and Taiwan.
Now on the South China Sea, Wang said that China will take justified actions to defend its rights there. And he said that China has been exercising a, quote, "high degree of restraint," even after the Philippines accused Chinese vessels of dangerous maneuvers, something that a CNN team witnessed this week in international waters.
Now, on the issue of Taiwan, Wang Yi said that China will continue to strive for peaceful reunification. Xi Jinping also on Wednesday called for peaceful reunification while rallying so-called patriots to reunify China.
Now, this is according to state-run media Xinhua. Xi urged a political group at the NPC to do the following. Let's bring up the statement from -- from Xi Jinping: "To unite all patriots from home and abroad, in and out of Taiwan, to step up opposition against Taiwan independence, to expand support for national reunification, and jointly advance the peaceful reunification of China.," unquote.
Meanwhile, John, there's no word on whether a new foreign minister will be appointed. As you know, that role has been filled temporarily by Wang Yi since July, when Qin Gang was ousted without explanation after he disappeared from public view.
Back to you, John.
VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout, live for us there in Hong Kong.
And as Kristie mentioned, a CNN crew did get a firsthand look at those confrontations in the South China Sea. In fact, CNN's Ivan Watson spent two days on board a Philippines Coast Guard ship.
[00:35:06]
He explains how this one incident actually began and why the struggle is one of the biggest -- in one of the world's biggest shipping zones could actually spiral into a global conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Water cannons and the collision of heavy ships.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Philippines vessel, this is China Coast Guard.
WATSON (voice-over): CNN getting a rare chance to witness the David and Goliath confrontation between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to curtail your behavior.
WATSON (voice-over): The Chinese ships make their move at dawn, outnumbering and swarming a small convoy from the Philippines.
WATSON: We have a very good view of a large Chinese Coast Guard ship. You can see it written on the side of the vessel, and it is currently steaming, I would say maybe two stone throws away from this Philippines Coast Guard ship.
And that's not all. Look over to the starboard side here. There's another Chinese Coast Guard ship right here.
WATSON (voice-over): Not far away, another Chinese ship collides with another Philippine ship. Fortunately, no one's hurt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are sailing within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone. What is your intention, over?
WATSON (voice-over): I'm a board the BRP Cabra, a Philippine Coast Guard ship. Its mission: escort two resupply boats to the Second Thomas Shoal, a teardrop-shaped reef claimed by both the Philippines and China, even though it's clearly much closer to Philippines territory.
For more than 20 years, China ignored competing claims from smaller countries, occupying and eventually building man-made islands on top of several contested reefs and shoals. In 1999, an unusual step from the Philippines. It grounded the Sierra
Madre, a rusting World-War-II-era ship, on Second Thomas Shoal. Filipino marines have been guarding it ever since.
Our convoy is supposed to resupply those marines. But a much larger ship swerves dangerously close to the BRP Cabra and eventually pulls in front, stopping it in its tracks.
Meanwhile, this resupply boat doesn't stand a chance.
WATSON: That little boat in front is Philippines' resupply boat, and it is currently being pursued by one, two, three, at least four Chinese ships.
WATSON (voice-over): They blast the boat with water cannons, shattering windows and likely injuring four service members on board, forcing the crew to abort their mission.
The Chinese fleet includes what look like civilian vessels.
WATSON: We're currently blocked and surrounded by what look like ordinary fishing boats that are flying Chinese flags. And they're working in tandem with the Chinese Coast Guard.
They appear to be members of China's maritime militia, a way for Beijing to project power here in the South China Sea.
WATSON (voice-over): Beijing now accuses the Philippines of being dishonest and deliberately stirring up trouble.
MAO NING, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): The Philippines rights-infringing and provocative attempts will not succeed.
WATSON (voice-over): But the Philippines remains defiant.
JONATHAN MALAYA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR GENERAL, PHILIPPINES NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: If the hope of China is to weaken the Philippine resolve, they will be sorely disappointed.
WATSON (voice-over): The night before the confrontation, we steamed past a U.S. Navy ship, the USS Mobile, apparently being shadowed from a distance by this Chinese navy ship and helicopter.
A looming question: Would the U.S. come to the help of its mutual defense treaty ally the Philippines, if tensions escalate further with China, owner of the world's largest navy?
Ivan Watson, CNN, on the South China Sea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We shall pause here for a moment. Back in a minute. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [00:41:18]
VAUSE: For the past nine months, global temperatures have set new record highs. Last month was the hottest February on record. The temperatures in the first few weeks, exceptionally high according to the E.U.'s climate monitoring service.
Restricting global heating to well below two degrees was a set -- Celsius -- was a centerpiece of the Paris climate agreement, which was signed by almost every country.
Global sea temperatures were also off the charts last month, leading to more extreme weather patterns and posing a risk to marine life and a lot of other life, as well.
A new study shows dozens of U.S. coastal cities are sinking at alarming rates. This map shows the cities which are going down the fastest. They're the ones in red.
It also showed the 32 coastal cities studied were far more vulnerable to devastating floods than previously thought, particularly those along the Gulf of Mexico, followed by those on the East Coast.
The study in the journal "Nature" says almost 1,400 square kilometers of land, an area a little less than the size of London, could be exposed to destructive floods by 2050.
Something to think about as we take a break. I'm John Vause. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT start after a short break. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:45:17]
(WORLD SPORT)
