see the full spectrum of human folly and commit some follies of your own. chaos in the u.s. heartland. at least 13 people have been killed after a string of powerful tornadoes hit the midwestern united states. the aircraft plainly cannot disappear. it must be somewhere. >> we focus the search for mh370 enters a new phase after the first turns up no sign of the missing airplane. message to russia. the eu and u.s. move to impose new sanctions on moscow for its actions in ukraine. and making their point. the l.a. clippers protest in silence after racist remarks attributed to the team's owner.

hello, everyone. you are watching "cnn newsroom," and i'm rosemary church. >> i'm john vause. we'd like to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. >> well, tornadoes are ripping across states in the central and southern u.s. >> parts of arkansas are seeing some of the worst damage. a section of this town was completely destroyed after a storm system moved through on sunday night. officials say at least 12 people have died across the state. the mayor of one hard-hit town explained how extensive the damage is and what emergency crews are doing right now to respond. >> the downtown area seems like it's completely leveled. there's a few buildings partially standing, but the amount of damage is tremendous. utilities, there's gas lines

spewing. of course power lines down. houses are just a pile of brick. when i came up through town to get to city hall, there were people everywhere bandaged and bloody, people trying to help them. they set up a triage center just across from city hall that's the old fred's store. we do have some folks that have -- that were killed in the storm. i don't know how many yet, don't have a count. we have an area back stationed right here across from city hall and they have several helicopters are flying in, flying people to local hospitals. and right now we're just trying to do a search and rescue and see how many people we do have injured and trying to help those first and wait till the sun comes up in the morning to see what the damage is. >> other parts of the country are also being hit. a storm chaser shot this video of a funnel cloud forming over

kansas. and while this twister touched down just a bit further north, emergency officials say dozens of homes are destroyed there in the neighboring state of oklahoma at least one person is reported dead. so who is seeing the severe weather at this hour? let's turn to our meteorologist pedram javaheri who joins us from the international weather center. of course the big concern when it's just after 3:00 in the morning on the east coast, that these are the overnight hours and this is the worry, when people are asleep. >> yeah. these tornadoes definitely tend to be the most deadly as far as that is concerned because of course a lot of people being sound asleep and storms come in into the overnight hours where typically you lose that daytime heating, sow don't expect the storms to be as extensive. in fact at this hour eight states, at least parts of eight states underneath tornado watches. no active tornado warnings to speak of at this hour meaning no tornadoes occurring at this hour or the k. conditions are not imminent for them. but you take a look, memphis in a watch area. so certainly possible there to spark a few storms, but the most

active weather well to the north. poplar bluff southern missouri. paducah, western kentucky. evansville, southern indiana. all of these areas in line for severe weather as this storm certainly has had the history of producing tornadoes. in fact on sunday 30 reports of tornadoes. 105 reports of hail-related damage. 97 reports of wind-related damage. scattered about much of the really southern and central plains across the u.s. and that pattern again expected to continue. we know some 27 million were in line for that severe weather on wednesday -- on sunday, and of course that verified. look what happens come monday afternoon. 55 million. so if you're tuned in from atlanta, from birmingham, from new orleans all the way out toward, say, lexington and nashville, severe weather a possibility. and in a lot of areas a probability into the afternoon hours. that extends to some 29 million people come tuesday afternoon. so a multiday event setting up here. and of course we've seen the destruction left in place. take you out to mayflower, where officials calling it absolutely a devastating event set up here. we know parts of i-40, which is

the third longest highway in the united states, goes from california to the coast of north carolina, parts of i-40 that went through this region so damaged, so much debris left on the ground that they had to shut down the highway in both directions. the initial reports are -- reports of this tornado will put the damage in line with what would be considered an ef3, winds up to 165 miles per hour, possibly an ef4 in place here as well. and what's incredible about this, natalie, we've gone -- i'm sorry, rosemary, we've gone so many months with no tornadoes, no significant tornadoes to speak of in the united states, no fatalities to speak of. and of course this is the time of year you begin to see it pick up in intensity, and it picked up with pretty impressive intensity on sunday afternoon. >> and some of those images so disturbing. the damage so extensive. just incredible. >> and we'll talk about this coming up soon as well. >> thanks so much, pedram. john. the search for flight mh370 is heading into a new long-term phase. for two weeks officials sent the

bluefin-21 an unmanned sub into a narrow search area based on possible pings from the missing airliner's black boxes. but after 16 missions it has found no trace of anything related to the 777. australia's prime minister, tony abbott, says the ocean floor of the entire probable impact zone will now be searched. that's about 60,000 square kilometers. anna curran joins us now live from the australian capital canber canberra, where the prime minister made those remarks. the costliest and longest search in aviation history is about to get a lot longer and cost a lot more. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, john. the pricetag that prime minister tony abbott put on the search operation was $60 million. and that's just for australia alone. not taking the cost being borne by malaysia, china, or the other countries that have been searching for the last month or so. australia has of course been, you know, leading these

operations the last 41 days. it's now more than seven weeks. 52 days ago that mh370 disappeared on that scheduled flight from k.l. to beijing with 239 people on board. tony abbott said it was with regret that they haven't been able to find anything in their search of the last few weeks using the bluefin-21, that submersible which has been operating within a 400 square-kilometer area. he believes that there will now be no debris found on the surface, that if there was any debris it would have sunk by now, it would have been waterlogged and sunk. so this is now moving into the next phase. it's going to be underwater. as you say, covering now an extended area of some 60,000 kilometers. and you know, according to the prime minister and according to air chief marshal angus houston, he said that this at a minimum could take six to eight months to cover this area.

so it certainly is going to be a protracted operation, john. >> yeah, six to eight months if everything goes according to plan, and it rarely does. what was interesting, though, about that news conference that tony abbott had just a few hours ago, i remember a couple of weeks ago when he was meeting with the chinese, he said that he was very confident that those black boxes would be found. he gave every indication that it would happen relatively soon. now he's saying he's baffled and disappointed. did he explain what happened? >> not exactly. you know, and he was pushed on that by reporters in the press gallery, saying what has changed. you know, both the prime minister and air chief marshal houston both said that you know, as far as they were concerned this was the area that was detected as the crash site for mh370. and angus houston said that they still maintain that they're in the right area, they've just yet to find the debris. so no explanation as to why he was so certain a few weeks ago

and now it's a complete mystery as to where the debris is. but certainly the prime minister said that australia will not skirt from its responsibilities, skirt from its responsibility to try and find the debris and to try and i guess bring some sort of closure to the families and relatives of the 239 passengers on board. >> and finally, they will hand the search over to two commercialing contractors. do we know who the contractors will be, and do we know when they'll actually start? >> reporter: we don't know who the contractors are. they haven't been named. we understand the australian government is in negotiations with those contractors. and also, as to the availability, if you like, of these submersibles. they're talking about new equipment being brought in. and this would be like a sonar towed behind a boat. it would be able to go deeper and cover a much larger area. but as for details of who will

be actually conducting these missions, we just don't know. we're still waiting for answers on that. >> yeah. we're still waiting for a lot of answers on a lot of questions. anna coren there reporting live for us in canberra. thanks so much. now to south korea where prosecutors say more arrests have been made in the aftermath of the ferry disaster. >> three members of the korea shipping association have been arrested on suspicion of destroying evidence. one of those arrested is the director of the association's incheon office. >> and we have new audio which is shedding new light on the last moment on the ferry as it was sinking with 300 students on board. we're also hearing from the captain of the doula ace. >> that was the first ship to come to the sinking ferry's rescue. paula hancocks brings us some never-before-seen images from that day along with that newly found audio, which some of you may find upsetting.

>> reporter: this is the first image of the doomed ferry. calm seas belie the horrors unfolding within the ship. this is the view from doula ace, an oil tanker that is first on the scene. captain moon yashik receives a call to help a ship in distress at 9:06 a.m., 11 minutes after the sewal says it is in trouble. he soon has the ship in his sights. "i could tell the ship was sinking just by looking at it," he tells me. "the situation was so bad i assumed the evacuation was well under way." it wasn't. this was the scene inside the ship at around 9:06 a.m., filmed by a student who did not escape. his phone was retrieved with his body and given to his father. joking and unaware of the danger they are in at first, they then ask, why can't they tell us what's going on? they ask us to wear life jackets.

does that meant boat is sinking? then an announcement. the third of its kind we hear on this recording. saying, "once again. please do not move from your current location. absolutely do not move." so they don't. captain moon and his men are on deck ready to deploy the life rafts to save anyone in the water. moon tells cnn he is 200 meters away but the sewal keeps asking over the radio where the rescue boat is. 9:14 a.m. doola ace talking directly to sewal says people should escape. a full ten minutes later a sewal crew member is still asking if passengers escape can they be rescued? this person was inexperienced, says moon. in an emergency it should be the captain on the radio. you need to make decisions fast. but it is unclear where the

captain was at this point. he was one of the 174 people rescued along with 20 of his crew. moon says he's angry he left his passengers behind. >> this is dangerous, this water? >> yeah. this is very strong current. >> reporter: moon had been tracking the ship. he says the ship made a right turn at a rapid speed. the ship's tracking system was off, he says. moon wonders if the ship had lost power. he says he will never understand the actions of the captain and has decided this is the last time he will speak about what happened. hoping that not talking about it will stop the nightmares he still has about the children he couldn't save. paula hancocks, cnn, on the yellow sea, south korea. barack obama is meeting with philippine president benigno aquino at this hour. the u.s. president arrived in manila just a short time ago and

was greeted by a formal welcoming ceremony. washington is seeking to boost military, economic, and trade ties with manila. topping mr. obama's agenda, a ten-year defense pact that would give the u.s. military more access to bases and ports in the philippines. the u.s. president returns to washington on tuesday. manila caps earlier stops in japan, south korea, and malaysia. well, still to come here on "cnn newsroom" -- the crisis in ukraine. >> one european monitor is free, but seven others remain in the clutches of pro-russia separatists in ukraine, and we will have an update on their status. also, the owner of basketball's los angeles clippers is under the gun, accused of racism after a recording goes public. the league is investigating. but should donald sterling be suspended? on angie's list before i do any projects on my home. i love my contractor, and i am so thankful to angie's list for bringing us together.

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there were eight monitors in the hands of pro-russia separatists until sunday, and that is when their captors let one team member go. the swedish observer was released on medical grounds. his colleagues, though, were put on display earlier in the day, and they told the world they're being held against their will. >> reporter: perhaps his biggest catch yet, the self-declared mayor here wasting little time parading overseeing military observers that he says are nato spies in front of the cameras. their leader, german colonel axel snyder says their diplomatic protection didn't protect them from being asked to do this. >> we are not fighters. we are diplomats in uniform. he acts as a local commander.

and that is when he said i want the officers to show up here for an international press conference. and we accepted that because we wanted that our families sees us. >> reporter: they say they're treated well and not threatened, but even moscow's calls for the situation to be resolved haven't been heard yet. >> the decision to put these observers, who say they're here fully mandated by the osce, on display like this marks a substantial escalation by the self-declared administration here in slovyansk. >> reporter: in the back the real power here, increasingly relaxed. >> do they look like soldiers to you? >> translator: i have nothing to say about that. >> where are you from? >> translator: i'm not local but i am from earth. i'm not extraplanetary. >> reporter: one of them tells me how they were detained just outside town.

>> getting rid of all things that we own. the clothes, slirpz, everything, every personal belongings, there was not a single thing -- we have private credit cards, we have picture from our families, we have everything that you have when you're going on holiday. >> reporter: then their captor announces another osce delegation has arrived to discuss release. outside, that appears true. there will be talks. but the new face of power here is emboldened. nick peyton walsh, cnn, slof yans k. >> the u.s. and e.u. are expected to level new economic sanctions later today aimed at russian officials and those close to president vladimir putin. according to western diplomats, those targeted are believed to be undermining the stability of ukraine. they could face asset freezes and travel bans. the west blames moscow for

engineering the current crisis in ukraine. those new sanctions, though, are expected to fall way short of targeting the entire russian economy. and to explain why we're joined now live by ian bond in london. he's the director of foreign policy at the center for european reform. ian, thank you for being with us. does this now all come down to hesitation within the e.u.? are the europeans going a bit wobbly here? >> well, i think the europeans have been wobbly throughout this crisis. and we'll have to see whether today the americans have moved them a bit further along. but no, i think we're not really looking at broad-scale sanctions at the moment. >> well, some republican lawmakers in washington, they really want the u.s. to go get a lot tougher for the americans to lead on this. but president obama has made it very clear over the last couple of days he's not prepared for the u.s. to get out in front of europe because he says that simply wouldn't work. they need to have this united front.

is he right? >> well, broadly speaking, i think he is. the extent of u.s. trade with russia is somewhat under $20 billion a year. the extent of european trade with russia is somewhat over $250 billion a year. so there's such an enormous disparity in the scale that clearly it has much more effect if the u.s. and the europeans can work together on this. >> well, then if you look at i guess the difference in the economic ties here, how does that then boil down to the difference in approaches when you compare what the americans are really pushing for what they would like compared to what the europeans are willing to do despite the french warning of incalculable consequences? >> well, what it would be good to see today from the europeans, and i believe european ambassadors are meeting in brussels today, is some move against some of the key russian companies. so not necessarily singling out

whole sectors of the economy and particularly, let's say, the energy sector, which is so important to europe. but targeting companies which are particularly close to president putin and his circle. >> isn't the problem, though, targeting those particular companies which they really haven't done yet, they've just been doing the individuals. and it looks like from what we're being told from our sources that it will be just more individuals. that isn't really moving the needle when it comes to the desired impact on changing vladimir putin's behavior. so will they continue to do this? putin will continue to do what he does. >> well, there are two things to say. one is that some of these individuals and some of these companies that are close to putin are very closely bound up with his own financial well-being. and so one would hope that over time that would have some impact on his calculations. and the second is that there is a chilling effect on the russian economy as a whole from any sort

of sanctions. in other words, you're seeing big falls in the value of the russian stock market and rises in interest rates and so on as a result of the sanctions that have already been undertaken even though they have not directly targeted most of the sectors that are being affected by drops in value of the stocks. >> so i guess we have to wait and see in the coming hours exactly how far they're prepared to go and what else -- what the other options are on the table. ian, thank you very much. ian bond for us live in london. he's the director of foreign policy at the center for european reform. >> all right. we're going to take a very short break now, but just ahead, the u.s. president and some of the nba's top stars are speaking out. >> denouncing racist comments allegedly made by the owner of the l.a. clippers. we'll have much more on this controversy just ahead.

racist comments allegedly made by the owner of the los angeles clippers. >> as they warmed up for their playoff game on sunday, clippers players staged a silent demonstration. they wore their shirts inside out with the logo hidden. the nba players association is demanding team owner donald sterling be barred from all remaining playoff games this season. >> this comes in the wake of recordings in which sterling allegedly made racist remarks while talking with his girlfriend. >> if you don't feel it, don't come to my games. don't bring black feel and don't come. >> do you know you have a whole team that's black that plays for you? >> you just -- do i don't? i support them and give them food. and clothes. and cars. and houses. who gives it to them? does someone else give it to them? do i know that i have -- who

makes the game? do i make the game, or do they make the game? is there 30 owners that created the league? >> wow. >> yeah. >> okay. the clippers president is questioning the authenticity of the recordings. he suggests a woman who he doesn't name is actually trying to get even with him over a lawsuit. >> yeah. miami heat star lebron james calls the comments in the rerdings unacceptable. nba legend magic johnson echoed that. >> there's no place in our society for it. there's no place in our league because we all get along. we all play with different races of people when you're in sports. that's what makes sports so beautiful. and then he's put his own team in a tough situation. so i believe that once commissioner -- silver. excuse me. i was going to say stern. silver does all his due diligence, gets all the

information, gather the information, we've got to -- he's got to come down hard. he shouldn't own a team anymore. >> those alleged comments by sterling even caught president obama's attention while he is on his current visit to asia. this is what the president had to say when he was in malaysia. >> when ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything. you just let them talk. and that's what happened here. >> well, the l.a. clippers president says donald sterling is emphatic that what is said on the recordings does not reflect sterling's views or beliefs. >> sterling agreed not to attend sunday night's playoff game. and by the way, the clippers actually lost. >> yes, they did. devastating tornadoes have been ravaging parts of the central and southern united states. >> coming up, a live weather report on where the storms are heading next. ♪

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just after 3:30 on a monday morning here on the east coast of the united states. we'd like to welcome back our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm john vause. >> and i'm rosemary church. let's check the headlines this hour. severe weather is battering states in the central and southern u.s. several tornadoes touched down including in arkansas, leveling whole sections of towns there. at least 13 people have died in the latest storm outbreak. australia's prime minister says the search for malaysia's missing airliner will be

entering a new phase. tony abbott says the new phase will focus on searching a much larger area on the floor of the indian ocean. mr. abbott says it's highly unlikely any debris will be found on the ocean surface. western nations are poised to put more sanctions on russia over its role in the ongoing crisis in ukraine. this after pro-russian separatists detained eight european military monitors in eastern ukraine. seven of the observers appeared at a news conference sunday. an eighth monitor, a swede, was later freed for medical reasons. 32 tornadoes have been reported in the southern and central u.s. on sunday. pedram javaheri has been tracking this. he has the details. the bad weather's not over yet. >> it's not. john, in the last 15 minutes the cnn national service radar indicating a tornado on the ground now. at this hour. this has been across dunkling county in the boot hooel of missouri in the extreme southeast corner of missouri.

this tornado about six miles north of berkline, in eastern arkansas moving this direction. very dangerous storm system. this is the time to get to the lowest point of your home, to the basement perhaps if you have one or interior hallway away from the windows. if you've got blankets, pillows, anything to protect yourself, certainly going to be need add cross that region as that storm system is on the ground in dunkling county approaching across southern missouri. want to touch on what's happened as john referenced those 30 tornadoes reported across much of the southern and central plains over the past several hours. the main tornado coming down across portions of mayflower, extensive damage from there toward vilonia to the north and east. want to show you video. this video just coming in to share with you, to show you how extensive this storm system and the tornado was. reports put it at a half a mile wide, or .8 kilometers wide. incredible tornado. very few places on our planet can support a storm to get this strong, this extensive. mass casualties reported over much of this region once the storm system passed through portions of mayflower on into

vilonia. and again, this storm system we know when you pad this sort of a damage that we saw on the ground with this ef3 scale sort of damage, winds upwards of, say, 200-plus miles per hour possible with such storms coming down. there it is. little rock, capital city of the state of arkansas. about 22 miles to the north is mayflower, population here 2,3 hupp people. 24 miles to the north and east is vilonia, population here 3,800 people. tornado on the ground from that point all the way to this point. and when you see the scale of the damage left behind you know when the sun comes up and more footage is available it's going to be absolutely astonishing to see what's left behind. but again, this sort of a setup when you have trees completely losing their foliage, trees debarked and also seeing damage on the ground like this where

vehicles are lifted off the ground and unanchored homes are swept away, all of it consistent with a devastating tornado. and guys, i often talk about this because john, only in the countries of bangladesh, across portions of argentina and brazil and the united states all the ingredients come together to produce tornadoes at this scale, of ef3 or greater. and this is the time of the year they begin to happen and that's exactly what we've seen. >> we've got a couple hours before daylight, about three hours i guess in much of that area in the south, which has been hit. we also just have some new information about the number of people hurt. this is just some hospitals which have been contacted by cnn. so far 109 victims have been treated by arkansas hospitals and that's just the hospitals which we've managed to get in touch with. so that's not an exhaustive list by any means. clearly the death toll is continuing to rise. a number of people have been hurt by this. continuing to rise also. the extent of the damage. pedram, i know you're following that and you'll bring us more as the developments come in. rosemary? all right, john, we're going to turn now to that search for

missing malaysia airlines flight 370. it's entering a new, more intensive undersea phase. it could be months before the families of those on board get any answers. and they're unhappy with how things have been handled so far. some even plan to attend boeing's annual shareholders meeting on monday in the u.s. city of chicago, even though only shareholders are invited. alexander field has more. >> reporter: more desperate, more frustrated, the family members of the passengers aboard malaysia airlines flight 370 turn their attention toward boeing. >> and if we're not getting information directly from malaysian airlines and from the malaysian government, we might as well try to go directly to the source. >> reporter: the manufacturer of the missing 777 has issued a statement that says, "in accordance with international protocols, boeing is serving as a technical advisor to the national transportation safety board in support of malaysian authorities." but families have technical

questions they want boeing to answer. >> they would have all the data. they would also have tape recordings. the inmar satellite images and whatever other information the government has shared with them. >> i've advocated that inmarsat and perhaps together with boeing as a participant release some of this information, some of this technical data information so that the families can at least get a handle on how they came about to calculate the area, this coalesced area where everyone is looking now. >> reporter: boeing has expressed sympathy, but so far they aren't saying much more, and an appeal from the families won't likely change that. >> they're under no obligation to disclose any of that information. >> boeing will say that they are prohibited from talk to the families under act 13 of the irritation civil aviation organization, but that really only applies to information -- >> reporter: a lawsuit could force the manufacturer to turn over information about its aircraft, but with the plane

still missing some aviation atoernsz say the families don't have a case, at least against the boeing company. >> you're not going to be able to bring a claim against boeing in my view without the wreckage of the black box. it's just not possible. >> reporter: alexander field, cnn, new york. we return to the ferry disaster now. prosecutors say they have made three new arrests in the aftermath of the sewol ferry disaster. they suspect the three destroyed evidence in the case. let's go tower nic robertson who's in jindo, south korea for more on those new arrests and of course those search operations. what proof do prosecutors have that these three possibly destroyed critical evidence, and what sort of evidence are we talking about here? >> reporter: well, they're not saying what it is that they destroyed. but they are saying it's evidence in connection with the investigation into this shipping disaster, into the ferry disaster here. what we know is what prosecutors are telling us is that these

three people destroyed documents that have come from the shipping company that owns the ferry, owned the sewol ferry. what we understand is that -- well, i suppose if we go back a little bit, we know that investigators have raided the offices of the sewol ferry owner. so possibly it is documents they found in one location. they're looking to find this second location, which is the korean shipping association which looks out and takes care of korean shipping interests. so it's perhaps because of documents found at the shipping company, not finding the requisite counterpart documents perhaps at the korean shipping association -- >> all right. we are just breaking in there, nic. we want to go to manila now and u.s. president barack obama is about to be talking. we're looking there at president aquino. and in just a moment, of course, he will introduce the u.s.

president. this is a welcoming ceremony at the presidential residence. >> mr. president, in your state of the union address earlier this year you spoke of how american volunteers and troops were greeted with gratitude in the affected areas. today i reiterate formally the philippine a&e people will never forget such kindness and compassion. on behalf of my countrymen, i thank the united states of america once more for being a true friend to our people. the friendship and partnership between our countries, however, are evident not only in times of crisis and immediate need but also in other aspects of our relations. our defense alliance has been a cornerstone -- for more than 60 years, and our strategic partnership spans a broad range of areas of cooperation, contributing to the growth and prosperity of both our nations and fostering closer bonds between our peoples. as such, president obama and i met today with the shared result

to ensure that our deepening relations are attuned to the realities and needs that have emerged in the 21st century, which affect not only our two countries but also the entire community of nations. i thank president obama for the u.s.'s support four our government's efforts in modernizing and enhancing its defense capabilities. the philippines-u.s. enhanced defense agreement takes our security cooperation to a higher level of engagement. reaffirming our country's commitment to mutual defense and security and promotes regional peace and stability. both president obama and i shared the conviction that the disputes in the asia pacific region should be settled peacefully based on international law. we affirm that arbitration is an open, friendly, and peaceful approach to seeking a justice and durable solution -- effective implementation of the declaration of conduct and conclusion of a substantive and legally binding code of conduct

in the south china sea. all toward fostering peace and stability in our part of the world. we likewise welcome the active participation of the united states in regional organizations such as the asean forum and the east asia summit. typhoon haiyan showed the world how vulnerable the fill yooenz as well as other developing countries are to natural disasters. as such humanitarian assistance and disaster response is ab essential component of our cooperation. as the united states and american people have always been ready to support us in the aftermath of disasters so, too do we look forward to the continued cooperation of the united states and the rest of our partners in the international community. >> but also in fostering inclusive growth across the entire country. president obama and i recognize the importance of strong economic engagement for the continued growth of both the philippines and united states. on this note we express our appreciation for the u.s.'s

support for the government's programs under the partnership for growth framework which enhances the economic growth for u.s. $145 million total plan contribution from the u.s.a.i.d. u.s. sorpt is also core to the mill challenge corporation which supports the implementation of projects on road infrastructure, poverty reduction, and good governance with a $434 until grant from 2011 to 2016. recently the u.s. federal aviation administration reinstated the philippines to a category 1 status. this will redound to mutual benefit for our countries from opening more routes for travel between the united states and philippines to creating more business opportunities to facilitating increased tourism -- agreement between our countries on the terms and concessions for the u.s. to support the philippines' request for the extension of special treatment for our rice imports until 2017. we also discussed the

transpacific partnership, which is a high standard trade agreement that will shape the global and regional economic architecture in the 21st century. the philippines is working to assert how participation in tpp can be realized. the signing of the comprehensive agreement last march 27th brings a just and lasting peace within our reach, a peace that will serve as a strong foundation for stability, inclusivity and progress in mindanao. this was born of the steadfast commitment and the hard work of our administration, the moral islamic liberation front, and other partners and stakeholders. the u.s. included. we thank president obama for the united states's significant assistance and support for the philippine peace process. our meeting today was comprehensive, historic, and significant, embodying our -- and myself the opportunity to build on the relations between our countries and discuss our strategic vision for the future of the philippines-united states

relationship. a relationship that is modern, mature, and forward-looking and one that allows us to surpass challenges towards the benefit of our peoples, the entire region, and the world. thank you. >> thank you, mr. president. we now call on secretary jay carney. >> mr. -- sorry. president obama has a statement. >> mabuhai. and thank you, president aquino, for your warm welcome and your very kind words. with the president's indulgence, i want to begin by saying a few words about some terrible storms and tornadoes back home in the united states. over the weekend a series of storms claimed at least a dozen lives and damaged or destroyed homes and businesses in communities across multiple states, with the worst toll in arkansas. so i want to offer my deepest condolences to all those who -- [ audio dropout ]

the heroic efforts of first responders and neighbors who rushed to help. i want to assure that fema and the federal government is on the ground and will help our fellow americans in need in working with state and local officials and i want everyone to know that your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild as long as it takes. now, this is my first visit to the philippines as president, and i am proud to be here as we mark the 70th anniversary of the battle of leyte gulf, when americans and filipinos fought together to liberate this nation during world war ii. all these years later we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder to uphold peace and security in this region and around the world. so benigno, i want to thank you and the filipino people not only for your generous hospitality today but for a friendship that has spanned generations.

[ awed y [ audio difficulty ] -- because of the patriotism of many proud filipino americans. the united states is renewing our leadership in the asia pacific and our engagement is rooted in our alliances. and that includes the philippines, which is the oldest security treaty alliance that we have in asia. as a vibrant democracy the philippines reflects the desire of citizens in this region to live in freedom and to have their universal rights upheld. as one of the fastest-growing economies in asia the philippines represents new opportunities for the trade and investment that creates jobs in both countries. and given its strategic location, the philippines is a vital partner on issues such as maritime security and freedom of navigation. and let me add that the recent agreement to end the insurgency in the south gives the philippines the historic opportunity to forge a lasting peace here at home with greater

security and prosperity for the people of that region. i was proud to welcome president aquino a couple years ago and since then we've worked to deepen our cooperation and to modernize our alliances. our partnership reflects an important filipino concept. bayaniya, the idea that we have to work together to accomplish things that we couldn't achieve on our own. that's what we saw last year when typhoon yolanda devastated so many communities. our armed forces and civilians from both our countries worked as one to rescue victims and to deliver life-saving aid. that's what friends do for each other. and mr. president, i want to say to you and the people of the philippines we'll continue to stand with you as you recover and rebuild. our commitment to the philippines will not waiver. today i'm pleased we're beginning a new chapter in the relationship between our countries, and it starts with

our security, with the new defense cooperation agreement that was signed today. i want to be very clear the united states is not trying to reclaim old bases or build new bases. at the invitation of the philippines american service members will rotate through filipino facilities. [ audio difficulty ] so we're prepared for a range of challenges including humanitarian disasters and natural disasters like yolanda. we'll work together with build the philippines' defense capabilities and work with other nations to promote regional stability such as in the south china sea. and i'm looking forward to my visit with forces from both our nations tomorrow to honor their service and to look ahead to the future we can shape together. as we strengthen our bilateral security cooperation, we're also working together with regional institutions like asean and the east asia summit. when we met in the oval office two years ago, benigno and i agreed to promote a common set of rules founded in respect for

international law that will help the asia pacific remain open and inclusive as the region grows and develops. today we have reaffirmed the importance of resolving territorial disputes in the region peacefully, without intimidation or coercion. and in that spirit i told him the united states supports his decision to pursue international arbitration concerning territorial disputes in the south -- [ audio difficulty ] we agreed to keep deepening our economic cooperation. i congratulated president aquino on the reforms he's pursued to make the philippines more competitive. through our partnership for growth and our millennium challenge corporation compact we're going to keep working together to support these efforts so more filipinos can share in this nation's economic progress. because growth has to be broad-based and it has to be inclusive. we discussed the steps that the philippines could take to position itself for the transpacific partnership.

and i encouraged the president to seize the opportunity he's created by opening the next phase of economic reform and growth. today i'm announcing my commerce secretary, penny pritzker will lead a delegation of american leaders to explore opportunities. and i've added we agreed to work together to address the devastating effects of climate change and to make filipino communities less vulnerable to extreme storms like yolanda. so mr. president, let me once again thank you for everything you've done to strengthen our alliance and our friendship. i'm looking forward to paying tribute to the bonds between our people at dinner tonight. [ audio difficulty ] -- in the relationship between our two countries. >> thank you, mr. president. >> we now have our q and a. the first question will be from r.g. cruz of abncbn news. >> good afternoon, your excellencies. president aquino. president obama, welcome to the philippines. >> thank you. >> my questions are how did the united states reasurety fill

pooends that the u.s. is genuinely committed to countering an increasingly assertive china in the region? will the u.s. protect the philippines in case a territorial dispute with china in the west philippines sea or the south china sea become an armed china. and how do you think china will react to the enhanced defense cooperation agreement? china has so far refused to participate in arbitration proceedings. and what are you going to do with this that is consistent with your position to have the territorial disputes resolved in arbitration? thank you. >> well, i've been consistent throughout my travels in asia. we welcome china's peaceful rise. we have a constructive relationship with china. there's enormous trade, enormous business that's done between the united -- [ audio difficulty ] a range of issues on the international stage in which cooperation between the u.s. and china are vital. our goal is not to counter china. our goal is not to contain china. our goal to is make sure that

international rules and norms are respected. and that includes in the area of maritime disputes. we do not have claims in this area territorially where an asia pacific nation and our primary interest is the peaceful resolution of conflict, freedom of navigation, that allows for continued progress and prosperity. and we don't even take a specific position on the disputes between nations. but as a matter of international law and international norms we don't think that coercion and intimidation is the way to manage these disputes. and for that reason we're very supportive of president ninos approach to go before -- [ audio difficulty ] -- and to seek international arbitration that can resolve

this in a diplomatic fashion. with respect to the new defense cooperation agreement that's been signed the goal here is wide-ranging. we've had decades of alliance with the philippines. but obviously, in the 21st century we have to continue to update that. and the goal for this agreement is to build philippine capacity to engage in training, to engage in coordination, not simply to deal with issues of maritime security but also to enhance our capabilities so that if there's a natural disaster that takes place we're able to potentially respond more quickly. if there are additional threats that may arise, that we are able to work in a cooperative information. this is consistent with, for example, the agreement -- [ audio difficulty ]

obviously, we've had a long-standing alliance with australia but we also recognize that as circumstances change, as capacities change, we have to update that alliance to meet new needs and new challenges. i think this is going to be a terrific opportunity for us to work with the philippines to make sure that our navies, our air force are coordinated, to make sure there's information sharing, to allow us to respond to new threats and to work with other countries. asean countries, australia, japan. my hope is that at some point we're going to be able to work cooperatively with china as well. because our goal here is simply to make sure that everybody is operating in a peaceful, responsible fashion. when that happens, that allows countries to focus on what's most important to people day to

day, and that is prosperity, growth, jobs. those things that we as leaders should be focused on, need to be focused on. and if we have security arrangements that avoid conflict and dispute, then we're able to place our attention on where we should be focusing. >> the next question comes from marga tal of bloomberg. >> thank you. mr. president, later today we are expecting to hear about new sanctions on people close to president putin. and i wanted to ask you, do you see this as a way to get to mr. putin's personal wealth? do you believe he has amassed personal wealth that's unreported? or is it just a means of ratcheting up pressure before a move to sectoral sanctions? you mentioned yesterday specifically the defense industry as an area where it doesn't make sense to move

without europe moving. i wanted to ask you, are we likely to see defense sanctions soon, banking and energy sanctions soon? what kind of time frame? and then president aquino, if i may -- [ audio difficulty ] the new agreement. what i wanted to ask you is what message should china take away from the u.s. and the g-7's approach to russia and ukraine when it comes to territorial disputes? and do you believe that the military agreement that we've just been talking about will in and of itself deter china from being aggressive territorially or should the u.s. begin developing military options that could be possible contingencies if it needed to go that course? thanks. >> you're right, margaret, that later today there will be an announcement made, and i can tell you that it builds on the sanctions that were already in place. as i indicated, we saw an opportunity through the geneva talks to move in the direction of a diplomatic resolution of

the situation in ukraine. the g-7 statement accurately points out the government in kiev, the ukrainian government, has in fact abided by that agreement and operated in good faith, and we have not seen comparable efforts by the russians. we are going to be moving forward with an expanded list of individuals and companies that will be affected by sanctions. they remain targeted. we will also focus on some areas of high-tech defense exports to russia that we don't think are appropriate to be exporting in this kind of climate. the goal here is not to go after mr. putin personally. the goal is to change his calculus with respect to how the

current actions he's engaging in in ukraine could have an adverse impact on the russian economy, over the long haul, and to encourage him to actually walk the walk and not just talk the talk when it comes to diplomatically resolving the crisis in ukraine. there are specific steps that russia can take. and if it takes those steps, then you can see an election taking place in ukraine, the rights of all people inside ukraine respected. the ukrainian government has put forward credible constitutional reforms of the sort that originally russian-speaking ukrainians in the south and east said were part of their grievances, the failure to have their voices heard and represented. kiev's responded to those. so there's a path here to resolve this. >> and you have been listening to president barack obama and

his philippine counterpart, benigno aquino, addressing reporters there in manila. i'm rosemary church. >> and i'm john vause. president obama covering a lot of topics there. but we will leave him there for our viewers in the united states. "early start" is coming up next. deadly storms ripping through the central part of the country, tearing homes and towns apart. this morning we're live with the latest on the destruction and what mother nature has in store next. entering a new phase. the search for flight 370 turns up nothing, so authorities announce plans to refocus and scan an even larger area now, nearly two months after that jet disappeared. we're live with the new plans this morning. and anger growing against an nba owner for comments he allegedly made about race and his own players. his team