ah, ah, in washington scrambles for damage control after president biden suggests, the u. s. is seeking the top of letting me put in us leader later backtracks and says that he was just venting his own personal frustration expression more outreach . and i feel, and i make no apologies with personal like my 1st a humanitarian disaster and arguable as local residents hide in their basements from continuous shelling as they tried to cope with a lack of food and water. it took full jigging that kid. well, it's just a little school on believe, believe with and while the global community rushes to help you craniums

humanitarian groups appear to have lost sight of the suffering amid long running conflicts elsewhere in the world. as they divert aid to the european country. ah, broadcasting live to read from our studios and moscow. this is our to international . i'm john thomas. certainly glad to have you with us. let's start by recapping the main recent events in the war in ukraine as russian and their allied done by troops claim territorial advances. that's a mid report. the russian military has destroyed a key fuel depos around ukraine. meanwhile, another round of negotiations between russian and ukrainian officials is expected later on tuesday in turkey, with the turkish foreign minister, expressing hope that the meeting could lead to a cease fire. and in the pacific region, g 7 member state japan has imposed a ban on the export of luxury goods to russia,

including premium cars and precious minerals. that's as ukraine's president zalinski says. western powers should increase their sanctions against moscow, including a european ban on russian oil. if russia uses chemical weapons in ukraine, joe biden, once again, appears confused about his own views, particularly about whether us forces would go to ukraine and how exactly the us would respond if russia uses chemical weapons. despite moscow repeatedly rejecting that allegation. and you're going to see when you're there. so some of your vendors are going to see you're going to see women. young people stand, understand in the middle of the from dam tank. you interpret the language that way . i was talking to the troops. we're talking about helping train the troops in that are the ukranian troops that are in poland. we will respond if you use it. the nature of the response depend on the nature of the use. it will trigger

a significant response. what? i'm not going to tell you why did i tell you, you gotta be silly. i want to know a lot of things. i'm not telling them what the response would be. also, after calling for the ouster of russian president vladimir putin at the nato summit in warsaw, the u. s. leader now says those remarks aren't to be regarded as an official policy, but rather his personal feelings not walk in any back, but i want to make clear, i wasn't then norm or now articulate a policy change, as expressing more outrage that i feel i make no apologies for personal life, my personal previously put in spokesperson, already expressed concerns about biden's rhetoric towards russia and said moscow is closely monitoring his comments. i think president the white house made the point last night that quite simply president student cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against ukraine or anyone else. as you know,

and as you've heard a say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in russia or anywhere else for that matter. look, the president had spent the day visiting with ukrainian refugees in the moment. i think that was a principal human reaction to the stories that he had had that day. we have the white house that tracking and us officials backtracking. what sounded like a blatant call for regime change from the u. s. president and the u. s. president is supposed to be the head of state who represents the country and articulate correctly what its foreign policy is. it sounds like the foreign policy, the united states, is to topple and overthrow. the russian government remove its head of state from power for god, saying this man cannot remain power. now, it's also important to note that there have been a number of occasions where joe biden as dead things about the russian leader that

he, they're rather unclear, right. i mean, he's used very provocative language to describe the russian president, and then in some instances, rolled it back or corrected himself. i mean, he's not very articulate when it comes to explaining what the us policy toward russia really is. you know, let him report you think he's a killer or do what price must he pay? the price is going to pay. well, you'll see shortly. present, buy and regret calling fatherhood. and i know that the president gave a direct answer to a direct question and you're going to see when you're there. so you've been there, you're going to see you're going to see women. young people stand on standing, the middle of the from dam tank. the president has been clear. we are not sending us troops to ukraine and there no change in that position. the, you know, or the years or

the not clear messaging from the president of the united states when it comes to dealing with russia. now, at this point, we have many countries around the world that want to bring an end to hostilities and ukraine. they want the situation with fighting and dying, taking place to be brought to an end. they want negotiations to resolve the fighting, bring us these fire, and still have so many european leaders, including many members of nato, long time. us allies are not thrilled about what joe biden said, bottle of would you put i wouldn't use this kind of words. if we want to do this, we mustn't escalate neither with words nor with action needed. how help for otherwise was the us president joe button, seeming to call, seeming over raging change in russia on saturday, but then rowing back in washington yesterday, 2nd morning, by the way, things coming, not helpful to say something to ro back fixing to say probus reasons. i think we need the escalation, military de escalation and rhetorical there escalation. now,

if you look at the polls here in united states, joe biden approval rating his tanking americans are not happy about the domestic situation. the crumbling infrastructure, the rising price of fuel, the rising price of food, a lot of unrest at home, a lot of folks just not thrilled with how the biden administration is doing things . they promised to pick up the pieces from trump and, and correct the errors of his mismanagement of the pandemic that they accused him of. and things have just gotten worse, and a number of americans are wondering if joe biden should perhaps focus on trying to improve the situation domestically than trying to in intensify the flames of international problems around the world. by calling for the toppling of overthrow the russian president. so not a lot of clarity coming from washington when it comes to dealing with russia and their response to the conflict. as intensive fighting continues in the coastal city

of variable in the done yes, republic. russian forces say they are advancing and have taken nearly full control of the city. don. yes, ca troops recently raised their flag over an administration building or roman coast of reports now and the destruction and the local residents who continue to live under shilling. we're now heading out to the sensor hall for maria, pull city where the fighting is still. apparently it's taking a place according to that the nets, people's republic of militia and officials, most of the city has now been liberated from the ukrainian army and nationally, battalions assault. the city of murray. loophole has been under shelling for nearly half a month now. the entire town, his devastated buildings lie in horrible and you can hear shelling right now as well. it's still continues. the people have been forced to live in a bomb shelters without food, water, or electricity. i'm about to visit one of these bomb shelters right now and hear

the stories of the people that had been forced to live on the ground for nearly a month. people in these bomb shelters and these basements live without food, water, or electricity, has been happening for about a month. so ah, lean from friends of mine. i got some, a read from canned goods, water for the nearly 70 people that live in this basement alone. and of course, for the kids we got some chocolate says, well what good is it? it does what i shouldn't on the 20th, which is in a movie and it must have yeah. to be honest, my life is so cell because older windows are broken at home. right now we live here . half of the children have already been ill here. i'm sick myself, my throat hurts. my grandmother is disabled some waiting for my mother and brother . they went to the hospital,

georgia is all over. it's very hard for us. we need food and water. we hope that this will all and soon and everything will be fine. all our homes have burnt. we're waiting for at least some accommodations to be given to us. love ship wearing, complete isolation. we don't know anything where sitting here and haven't come out . o homes have burned. and so with come down here, many died were buried them in the yard was here to come to, you see, holler, live, no documents, no bag, nothin, groundsmen a wheelchair and took me here. i'm surviving now. someone is helping that's how we live. my husband is avoid invalid. he's 90 years old and i'm 83. how can they miss theresa? like this is horrible. i mean, it wasn't. meanwhile, local residents and give have been cleaning up debris after their homes and cars were damaged by shilling. ukrainian media have reported that the area was shelled

by russian military outskirts of the ukrainian capital, have seen intense fighting and recent days between russian and ukrainian forces. and while the world's attention is still largely focused on the crisis in ukraine, influential countries and humanitarian organizations appear to have turned a blind eye to the destruction and suffering and other war torn areas, such as in yemen and me, and mark, amid concerns that resources are being diverted from those regions that are being unequally pooled for ukraine actually is policy reports. for weeks now, the world's attention has been focused on ukraine's refugees, while they no doubt face a dia, humanitarian crisis. what about the millions of others in the same situation? if we can so much about people suffering in ukraine, we should care as much about people in somalia, the keen of facile south sudan pakistan where the scale of need is high. it's so frustrating that other countries don't get the level of support they're entitled to . were struggling because they don't have the same geopolitical element. mainstream

media is also to blame. the ukraine crisis dominates the media spotlight in terms of search terms and publish materials. it's caused indignation even among western allies, the human interior suffering that we have seen in the korean. and everyone is talking about. i know it has been the suffering of lots of countries in the region 40 years and nothing happened actually. so what is happening elsewhere? the way

the the war in yemen has been ongoing for maybe 80. it's the world's worst humanitarian disaster. and in march the u. n announced a fundraiser with a target of $4300000000.00. as the conflict enters its 7th year, millions of people continue to suffer in yemen. we need urgent support to continue our work to save lives. but we also need to address the underlying drivers of the crisis. this will help to make people less vulnerable, build their ability to withstand shocks and give them hope for the future. so how matched at the fundraiser make you guessed it? no way near how much is needed?

it is a disappointment that we weren't able as yet to get pledges from some we thought we might hear from yet. the u. s. is asking for it's 2023 budget to include nearly $700000000.00 for ukraine. this kind of selectivity leads to an alarming prognosis unless we ring fence the resources that are dedicated to responding to crises in all parts of the world. we risk once hopefully the crisis in ukraine dies down. a huge backfire of other crises that have become much worse and even more difficult to address. while suffering cannot and should not be compared and contrasted. this pattern condemns millions of people around the globe to an effective death sentence . we heard from a civil rights attorney who thinks that the massive u. s. a support for ukraine has linked to the interests of the military industrial complex government and the media have decided to turn this into the big media. tinsley bit right now and put money into it in order to distract from other

domestic policy issues. the reason this money is going to ukraine is because the supports the military industrial complex here in america. they had mascot, us aid they send to the ukraine than they buy weapons back for american manufacturers. for those american manufacturers that we just laundered money as are profitable to help clean water supplies and south america is not profitable for defense contractors. in particular, they help with store governments and have dana fan or to help stabilize iraq. ukraine price competently would look far more likely to me in conflict and 2014, which is nearly let the conflicts but by puffing him, the money and puppy and the weapon. they are making the conflict more less than it has to be in preventing the types of miguel, she's necessary to bring this to a peaceful and new chinese military base may soon appear in the solomon islands, a tiny state in the south pacific, near australia. but while the specific location has yet to be confirmed,

the prospect has sparked major concerns in australia. traditionally, the islands chief defense park. we've been aware of the risks right across the pacific. this is why we doubled ad development assistance into the pacific. the reports that we've seen and not a surprise to us at a reminder of the constant pressure and threats that present in our region to our national security. the solomon islands have not only traditionally relied on regional power australia for defense issues. australia has also been a primary source of investment in the islands economy. but that could change now that china has been making inroads with the solomon government leaving australia and near by new zealand. very concerned. china insists that the solomon islands are a sovereign state and thus have the right to determine their own policies. dorothy hotel showed up a job for her. i mean, that gentle. why you? why are some individuals concerned about china, solomon islands, cooperation? when the government and the people of the solomon islands,

genuinely welcoming the international community, can make a fair judgment and the people of the solomon islands and other pacific island countries can see this clearly any attempt to disrupt and undermine mutually beneficial cooperation between china and pacific island countries is doomed to fail from one cross live to a panel of guests. victor gao, vice president of the center for china and globalization golf to code director of the washington based institute for the analysis of global security. and i was under bruno, an independent political analyst in toronto. gentlemen, thank you for being with us. first mr. go, let's go to you. are australia and new zealand justified in their concerns about a potential chinese military base base or basically should there be worried about their borders? absolutely not just divide. why? because the solomon islands, together with about 2000 eyes. because if it's in countries are some re nations and

they have their i to determine that economic and political relations as well as how they want to position themselves in the world. australia is not the most of solomon islands and or any of australia to. ready hold himself out to present the people are. solomon's is completely unacceptable. and i think the key is that china, solomon relations as well as china. pacific relations in general are very much focused on economic development with mutual benefits and the heart office economic relations. china by now is already the largest trading partner with more than $130.00 nations throughout the world, including with many because of its island countries. so i expect china, solomon relations china, other pacific nation states are relations,

will only expect to grow further in the coming years. if australia really want to do that, they need to invest them all in countries in the pacific region, so as to promote their trade and promote greater globalization and connect to edgy with all v. pacific nation states. indeed, instead of resting on their laurels as it were now go last, i want to go to you for this one. it's what do you think about the idea hypocrisy when western leaders say that there is no need to militarize the pacific while the u. s. and other western powers, conduct war games and boost space in cyber space. they have cooperation there with their allies in the region. i agree that it's very hypocritical, that australia can stand its battleships to the south, china sea and other location, thousands of miles away from the borders. and at the same time, it has a history,

it every time that someone else comes thousands of kilometers away from its own in what is defined as its fear of influences. but i think that this particular case, we are over reacting because i hope that our viewers take a very close look at the actual document. and there is nothing in this document that the agreement that implies that there is going to be a chinese base in solomon islands. it's completely not true. this thing is completely blown out of proportion. the only thing that is documents is that this government of solomon island will reserve the right to invite. try need police and other, you need to interfere, intervene in security emergency that may or may not happen in the

future. so between this and larry headlines that china is building a military base in the island is very, very, very big difference. now you raise a good point there. and by the way, nothing happens in a vacuum. if you take a step back and look at the history of everything i was under burned, i want to pose this to you. the solomon islands were originally colonized by the british back in the 1900 century. they now seem to be rejecting the western world. india has also been setting its own course in defiance of some western demands. are we seeing maybe a fail legacy of colonial rule in the asia pacific region? i don't know, foreseeing a feel legacy. i think the feel legacy is goes back further, but we're certainly seeing china taking advantage of the already established failed legacy. and i think speaking of going back, i want to go back just a little bit because i think one of the key elements that prompted china to

increase its seduction of the solomon islands to it's kind of because it's been competing with tie one back and forth and actually, a few years ago, china was supposed to build an internet infrastructure or cable with in the solomon islands, but the australians managed to win that contract away. so there's been a contest building up. but what happened last summer i, australia effectively became a more important partner to nato, to the united states. when the, the government decided or at least was, was influenced to the side in favor of buying american nuclear submarines so that it can petrol south china sea. instead of french regularly, diesel electric power submarines, which is a big quite

a big deal because it really propelled australia into a different class of a well within nato. it became more important in other words, and it's, it escalated the tensions with china. so i think china will not only secure more agreements with the solomon islands, but i expect, papa, your guinea not, not far from the solomon islands to follow suit also should be noted the solomon islands have quite a few interesting resources and metals and other raw materials which i'm sure the be the developed. now that victor will go to you on this, if you just heard alice under mentioned possible contracts and specifically wall way. but the solomon islands, they do want to expand their ties with china to combat security threats and also become a haven for more investments. why is it seeking that protection specifically from china? well 1st of all, in the solomon islands, there is

a large ethnic chinese community and we know that in the recent riots, lots of the chinese members in the community were threatened. and also we're committed to their properties, i mean, it cetera. so this was very unfortunate, and i think the solomon islands, government realized that to better protect the solomon people from such rioting. and i'm a key and destruction of the rule of role in the islands are better relations with china. definitely will be help because what china can bring on to the table is economic development. packages of development proposals, greater connectivity of all kinds. and i think this really is the driver for a better and stronger relations between china and solomon islands. allow me also to

add another point. i think all 3 leisure no longer in the, in the fantasy than the south pacific region is the backup of australia. mo, there is no accepted sphere of influence of australia in the pacific region. pacific belongs to the countries in the pacific, as well as to the rest of mankind. any country in the world should have the freedom to engage with each and all of the pacific island countries on equal terms to promote a trade or you cannot make relations. if australia concludes that it has a monopoly of relations with these countries, it's really a fantasy. carla, i would say for australia they should realize that they were the colonizing country in australia. they really took away the rights of the original people. many of these original people share the same cultural as make and other routes with many countries,

and many people on the south pacific region. so i think the colonization of australia itself need to happen, and i think they need to protect the rights in here. and rights of the aboriginal people. and australia should really look at its own human records abuses, especially against the original people before they should have any expectation that south westgate region countries would look at australia as an equal country with a perfect human rights record. no, australia does not ever perfect human records mirage records and australia cannot in the expect that to present region is it's peggy out. now, you mentioned that the, the colonial pass, which is confusing to many a few of you to say the least. but if we take it back a step further and i'm going to post a few got aloof to the british queen is still the nominal ruler of the solomon

islands. over in the caribbean, there was recently a lot of hostility towards the royal family during a trip by prince william r. there rising tensions against the british royals. and that form of rulership, if you will, in the solomon islands as well, are currently i don't think we are there yet. there are in other parts of the world, some questions about the role of the monarchy. and there is much more history than that. let's not forget the americans, for example, have also historical legacy in this region. i mean, what a canal which is the most, one of the most bloody and famous battles in world war to about 7000 americans and australians and breaks and, and use the landers were killed in guadalcanal. so there is a lot of historical legacy there. and everybody can wrapped himself around

a certain lag and, but that's not the issue that we need to be concerned about. the issue is sovereignty. we here day or night from western leaders about the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity and all these jazz. but that principle need to be applied across the board. and i think we have to look at the benefit and the welfare and the well being of the people that are living there and not use small countries as pawns in geopolitical tug of war. and we see it in sort of an island is just a case study, but it's happening all over the world. it's happening in the middle. is it happening in se asia? it's happening in latin america. i call this phenomena the phenomena of the sandwich countries. these are small countries, a finance of all of a sudden in

a position that have to consider the interest of a bigger powers that have bigger agenda. and then they need to consider what currencies they want to use their trade with. what type of technology they should apply in their backbone and so forth. they should not be in this position that they have to choose allegiance to this, or that they are independent countries or sovereign countries. and they shouldn't be treated exactly this way. now i was under bruno, i have a question for you. this is kind of a nuclear question if you will. the 3rd rail in politics, despite fierce opposition, back in 2019 the solomon islands switched its diplomatic recognition from taiwan to china, saying that that would be more economically beneficial. we just heard this solomon islands being a case study. do you think that this is part of a new growing trend? well, i think it's certainly a trend. i mean,

while i think it would be nice for these small case studies as are previous speakers, that to former independence and the ability to choose contractor than who the defense and so on. i believe unfortunately, we are going in the opposite direction and i think there's going to be more competition pushed. i have to say by the west. i mean the, let's, let's call the so called elephant in the room. the ukraine crisis has certainly makes, made this case much more interesting because of course it is, it reflects, it's almost a mirror of what happened in ukraine. this is the australians complaining about the chinese going into their so called backyard. and all of a sudden raising the security concerns, which is what russia did with ukraine.