, secretary to lloyd austin's remarks on the indo - lloyd austin's remarks on the indo pacific_ lloydthat the strategy is an attempt to build an exclusive small_ is an attempt to build an exclusive small group in the name of a free and open — small group in the name of a free and open indo pacific, to hijack countries — and open indo pacific, to hijack countries in our region and to target — countries in our region and to target one _ countries in our region and to target one specific country. it is a strategy — target one specific country. it is a strategy to — target one specific country. it is a strategy to create confrontation, to contain _ strategy to create confrontation, to contain and — strategy to create confrontation, to contain and encircle others. thanks very much for putting that in perspective and getting those reactions. it's also significant both countries were sitting face—to—face and really talking to each other. there are several outstanding issues that need to be resolved. nick, thank you very much. in ukraine, russian forces are tightening their grip on the easter

a response now to lloyd austin's remarks. translation: lloyd austin's remarks.n: we noticed separate to the _ translation: we noticed separate to the us - translation: we noticed | separate to the us secretary translation: we noticed - separate to the us secretary of defence — separate to the us secretary of defence lloyd austin's remarks on the — defence lloyd austin's remarks on the indo pacific's strategy that— on the indo pacific's strategy that it — on the indo pacific's strategy that it is _ on the indo pacific's strategy that it is an attempt to build a small— that it is an attempt to build a small group in the name of a free _ a small group in the name of a free and — a small group in the name of a free and open indo pacific, to target — free and open indo pacific, to target one specific country. it is a strategy to create confrontation to contain and encircle _ confrontation to contain and encircle others.— confrontation to contain and encircle others. very briefly, how significant _ encircle others. very briefly, how significant is _ encircle others. v

i don't think it was - theatre, i think there was a genuine effort by lloyd austin and wei fenghe totin it was particularly potent regarding the statements of presidentjoe biden regarding taiwan stop and for general wei fenghe that is our domestic audience a home that needs to hit a set message so there was an effort to reemphasise those traditional lines. that being said, theissue traditional lines. that being said, the issue of ukraine played very heavily on everybody�*s mind is the dataset message so there was an effort to reemphasise those traditional lines. that being said, theissue traditional lines. that being said, the issue of ukraine played very heavily on everybody�*s minds and whether or not we can compare the cases of type one ukraine is a different the relevance of the fort. ukraine dividing these military superpowers and dividing the world. on friday a significant meeting between lloyd austin and wei fenghe, the first significant meeting at this level since 2019. was there i thought in this very icy relationship? like i think the purpose of the meeting and the phone ca

but also _ was a genuine effort by lloyd austin but also the chinese general to we stayed _ but alsoo thailand~ — stayed formal position when it comes to thailand. for america, that was particularly — to thailand. for america, that was particularly important following the statements from joe biden, questions on whether— statements from joe biden, questions on whether the us was abandoning strategic— on whether the us was abandoning strategic ambiguity and for the chinese — strategic ambiguity and for the chinese general there is a domestic audience _ chinese general there is a domestic audience at — chinese general there is a domestic audience at home that needs to hear audience at home that needs to hear a certain— audience at home that needs to hear a certain message so there definitely was an effort to reemphasise those traditional lines. that said. _ reemphasise those traditional lines. that said, the issue of ukraine i think— that said, the issue of ukraine i think played very heavily on mines here whether we can compare the cases— here whether we can compare the cases of— here

the defense secretary lloyd austin, held talks with several peers from asian countries during his visit to singapore, including his chinese counterpart general way from her at what's called the shangri la dialogue. austin told delegates chinese military activity around taiwan is a threat to the region. and we remain focused on maintaining push stability and the status quo across across to try one straight. but the p. r. c's moves threatened to undermine security of stability and prosperity and the endo passivity. we've seen allies, analysts say the defense chief speech underscored major differences between us and china, liberty to asking motion a lot about the size know order, especially the movers, are using for the chinese. the question is, whose rules and whose order more than a dozen defense chiefs from around the world are in singapore for the security summit that's considered the most important in asia with regional stability on the agenda? defense chief stepped up to shed their vision for the asia pacific while lloyd austin speech was the main event of the day. of the speeches al

lloyd austin will be holding talks at the shangri-la dialogue.our next guest plays a role in organizing this event. let's bring in james crabtree. thank you so much for joining us. there is plenty to catch up on after two years. these delegates not leaving for some time. what you think will be the largest outcome from this meeting? >> relations between the u.s. and china are not good. everybody will be watching what lloyd austin says on saturday. they will be talking about the meeting on friday. >> a lot has happened in two years. a lot happened in the last six months. the ukrainian vision is another one where china is not really taking aside anyway. there are different military plots and don't forget the strategic competition where you are in southeast asia. >> there is a lot of dimension between the trust between the u.s. and china. both sides are trying to do things. china has been doing deals with the pacific islands. they might be building a military base in cambodia. there are a lot of subplots to this rivalry. a lot of this will have to do

defense secretary lloyd austin the u.s.as built a tremendous momentum delivery of military assistance in ukrainian that is making a difference in the battlefield? >> without a doubt it is making difference. it comes with having well-trained, well led forces by the ukrainians. who can. employ these weapon systems we have to replace their weapon systems and ammunition. >> no of course, it is a race against time for ukraine. greeny enforces requires special training to operate weapon systems from the west. can they get trained in time? >> yeah, i mean they will be able to get trained in time but during that, they will have to give up some terriry because a small a military, they cannot avoid to take significant losses to hold territory. that is something you will probably see. they have to get trained on them. there is no point in giving them weapon systems they will not be trained on. it will not have the effect so will take three to four weeks to get some of the weapon systems for em to employ them but they will be able to h

front lines and also contribute to the development of strategic capabilities. of the pentagon, lloyd austinter nothing in the rammstein format in brussels, austin also confirmed that germany has decided to transfer three guided missile systems to ukraine munitions, working together we can help ukraine defend itself against russia's cold, brutal attack, we can strengthen ukraine's security for the long term, and we can unite to show that rules really do matter. this was announced by the czech prime minister petra fiala, according to him, in addition to the reconstruction of ukraine, there are four more priorities of the czech republic during the hunger strike in the eu, namely, the solution to the refugee crisis, energy security, strategic stability european economy and strengthening of defense and democracy velmiradi we would like to organize ourselves regarding the post-war reconstruction of ukraine according to the marshall plan for ukraine and in the presence of the president of ukraine volodymyr zelenskyi but there is one condition that peace already reigns in ukraine. mykolaychuk open

speaking in brussels, you as secretary of state re la harmony, you as defense, secretary lloyd austin called on other countries to also intensify their support. austin says the war has reached a pivotal moment that this contact group has provided. that's the meeting, includes nato members, as well as dozens of additional countries known as the ukrainian contact group. lloyd spoke a short while ago. let's listen to what he had to say. just contact group 1st came together. nearly 3 months ago. we built tremendous momentum for donations and delivery of notorious justice. and after this, this afternoon, discussions were not just going to maintain that momentum. we're gonna move even faster and push even harder. will deepen our coordination and cooperation and we'll be bolster ukraine's armed forces to help them repel russian aggression now and in the future. for more, let's bring in our brussels correspondent terry shoulds. hello to terry's. so we just heard the u. s. defense minister lloyd austin, speaking there sounding brother, confident and stressing that there is going to be more coo

his us defense secretary lloyd austin, speaking earlier. so security group 1st came together nearly 3 months ago. we doc tremendous momentum for donations and delivery of notary assistance. and after this, this afternoon's discussions, we're not just going to maintain that momentum. we're going to move even faster and push human heart. will deepen our coordination and cooperation and will bolster ukraine's armed forces to help them repel russian aggression. melanin mac montgomery is a military expert with the foundation for defense of democracies who served in the u. s. navy for more than 30 years and helped to build us ukrainian military relations. welcome to you, mock. i wonder what will the slightest pledge of weapons allow ukrainian forces to do on the battlefield, but they are currently able to do well for us. thank you for having me and you know that is the big question. and i would say it's really more about maintaining their ability to do what they, what they can do right now. which is you have to have these replenishment packages f

speaking in brussels, us secretary of defense, lloyd austin, called on other countries to also step up support. austin says the war has reached a pivotal moment. the meeting includes nato members as well as dozens of additional countries known as the cranium. defense contact work is us defense secretary lloyd austin, speaking earlier. so the contact group 1st came together nearly 3 months ago. we built tremendous momentum for donations and delivery of notary assistance. and after this, this afternoon's discussions, we're not just going to maintain that momentum. we're gonna move even faster and push even heart will deepen our coordination and cooperation and will boot bolster ukraine's armed forces to help them repel russian aggression. now and in future. earlier i spoke to mark montgomery, a military expert who served in the u. s. navy, for more than 30 years and began by asking him what this latest pledge of weapons will allow ukrainian forces to do on the battlefield that they went previously able to do. well, 1st, thank you for having me and i, you know, that is the big question. a

at the end of the month, us defense secretary lloyd austin reiterated his support for finland and sweden's bid to join the alliance and said, girls of nato have not changed. during our time together, i've encouraged my fellow ministers to do even more. we all share the responsibility to procure, prepare and provide ready capabilities enforcers. to prepare this alliance for the challenges to comb, nato's preeminent task is not change to defend each and every alloy sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. and that's why america's commitment tomato into article 5 remains are employer. on wednesday, the white house announced an additional $1000000000.00 and military aid for ukraine includes anti ship rocket systems, artillery and ammunition is also $225000000.00 in humanitarian aid. it's get more from our white house correspondent, kimberly how kit. so kimberly, now the u. s. is committed to that massive aid package or all the ne to members feeling the heat to come up with similar packages. yeah, there's no question that there is pressure now on these other nato mill members, and y

her words are also supported by the statements of the head of the pentagon, lloyd austin, who previouslyted that the us is ready to provide ukraine with everything necessary for protection of its independence and sovereignty killing of civilians looting of property and attacks on civilian infrastructure such conclusions of a special commission of the united nations investigating russian crimes in ukraine, the diary of the commission visited irpin bucha, kharkiv, sumy trostyanets to collect evidence of crimes against the people of ukraine, un representatives also recorded facts of violence in the temporarily occupied territories , concerned about the organization and resettlement of children from ukraine and accelerated passporting of people. the european union will buy more israeli gas on to replace the russian side, the relevant agreement has already been signed, the us publication reports about this, and here the press, according to the agreement, israel will send more gas through the pipeline to the egyptian terminal in the mediterranean sea. egypt has the opportunity to liquefy it, t

and that's what lloyd austin, the u. s. defense secretary was referring to on saturday when he spoke of the need to improve communication between these 2 sides to prevent things spiraling out of control. now the message to the overriding theme of this conference has been china's desire to warn the united states the time for containing china is over. that period has passed. what really rankles china? i think most of all right now is the security block that the united states wants to form with india, japan and australia, and the defense minister from china on sunday accused the u. s. of trying to hijack countries in the region. his message is simply this, you cannot trust united states, look at the calamitous withdrawal of us forces from afghanistan. and it's true that what happened that afghanistan did give a number of leaders in asia. pause for thought under the marches, demanding tougher gun laws have been taking place across the u. s. the brought us follow a sees and mass shootings including one at a primary school in

he's been missing us defense. secretary lloyd austin navea says the 1st face to face talks focused on the island, which china views as a breakaway province. jessica washington reports not from single pole in singapore, highly anticipated gathering came to a close speaking after meeting with the u. s. secretary of defense, the chinese minister of defense, general waif, encore told reporters, it went smoothly. he said, the talks were honest and sincere for defense. secretary lloyd austin said they covered global and regional issues. al jazeera understands it included discussion of the war in ukraine, as well as some of the regional flush points, including taiwan and the south china sea. or what we've seen on the south china sea is that despite that pandemic um, problematic actions in the south china sea have continued. these include number one ah, chinese encroachments upon the excuse of economic zones of various coastal states. the defense chiefs met on the sidelines of the shangri la dialogue. most significant security summit in the region. organizers say the importance of the 3 day c

s. secretary of defense, lloyd austin. all right, thank you so much. jessica washington reporting from singapore kohls for the arrest . the former spokeswoman for india's governing b. j. p. are growing louder for faster as of march on the streets and a number of countries demanding action of poor sharma was suspended on sunday. after making comments about the prophet muhammad, but many consider offensive victoria gate and b reports in various cities from the deli oh, to low. who to deco? did you call to? yeah, i was in worship as gathered up to friday, prays to voice that opposition to comments made by an indian politician. yet i'm not real protesting as an indian woman made bad comments about the character of our beloved prophet, muhammad, so we ought. yes. nepal sharma is the target of their anger. the former spokeswoman for india's governing b. j. p. made comments about the prophet mohammed during a tv debate that many say would derogatory protest is want her arrested for hate speech. we don't numbers, i'm hear you about a gabriella. one ball only o

the air force frank kendall, by the way, the last few predecessors of the current pentagon chief lloyd austin under trump and under obama, were also people from the military-industrial complex in january. an independent research organization called the government oversight project released a report according to which 44 former pentagon officials have been promoted to senior positions in the past 3 years. vlog, hitmartin, a few dozen more in the boeing rating. nord rubmon and general dinex. actually, this is the big five. the american military-industrial complex, which produces almost all weapons for the army, navy and the us air force back in the nineties weapons contractors from the government the united states was much larger, but in recent years everything has been concentrated in the hands of only a few very large and very influential players under the age of 22, for example, the average capitalization of the largest holdings, e . this, of course, is connected with the escalation that the united states and its european partners are conducting in the east of europe and in fact . these are

frank kendall are connected, by the way, the last few predecessors of the current pentagon chief lloyd austinder trump, and under obama, too, came from the military-industrial complex in january. an independent research organization called the government surveillance project released a report, according to which, over the past for 3 years, 44 former pentagon officials have received high positions vlog-hit martin and a few dozen more in boeing rain northrup grumman and general dinex. actually, this is the big five of the american military-industrial complex companies that produce almost all weapons for the army, fleet and us air force back in the nineties, the us government had much more arms contractors, but in recent years everything has been concentrated in the hands of only a few very large and very influential players . starting from 20 years to 22 years, let's say on average capitalization the largest holdings, the us defense ones, from one and a half to two times, that is, capitalization has increased. this, of course, is connected with the escalation that the united states and its euro

lloyd austin is saying that asian nations are free to choose and chart their own path. both china and the united states following that meeting on friday had competing speeches, essentially the united states and lloyd austin did attempt to seize on the shock of russia's invasion of ukraine. china said that the united states is the destabilizing force in the western pacific as well as in eastern europe. it is a he said she said kind of thing. i want is the flash point the potential flashpoint. the united states, sources are telling us that united states is hearing behind the scenes from top-level chinese officials that the taiwan strait is increasingly becoming a no go for u.s. naval vessels. it is not necessarily international waters. it has been beijing's assertion that the taiwan strait as part of china's exclusive economic zone. we are hearing from military sources that it is rarely brought up in military talks as a a main talking point. the taiwan strait is increasingly being called on as a no go zone for the united states by beijing authorities. it is alarming defen

china is becoming more aggressive and destabilizing in the asia region, including round taiwan. lloyd austin was speaking in singapore, at a meeting of security officials from around the world known as the shangri la dialogue. it come to day after austin met with china's defense minister, way fang, me eat reset, way said b g won't hesitate to start a war. if taiwan declares independence, we see growing coersion from beijing, we really witnessed a steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near taiwan. and that includes peel, a aircraft flying near taiwan in record numbers and rece of much, and nearly on a daily basis. and we remain focused on maintaining peace stability and the status quo across across the taiwan strait. but the p. r c's moves threatened to undermine security and stability and prosperity in the endo pacific. let's bring in a jessica washington who's covering that shangri la dialogue for us in singapore, jessica lloyd austin, they're taking direct aim at china. how have the chinese responded? well, it's an interesting question. and before i answer that

thank you to my american colleague and friend, the minister of defense, lloyd austin, for these powerful tools. the summer will be hot for the russian invaders and, importantly, the last for some of them. here we see this quote reznikova really waited for a very long time and discussed for a very long time about the long-range artillery that was expected in ukraine which is so important for our future victory so let's give the first word p tymochko four months, this fourth month became, in our subjective view, important from the point of view that the majority of ukrainians began to realistically understand what is happening, that there will be no victory in a week , in two days, in three, as you remember in the first week of the war we have often been told by the majority of ukrainians now , and this is evidenced by polls, they are ready for a protracted war, what are your results for the fourth month, which has essentially already passed, if we take into account the situation as a whole, what is happening in our country, we can say that there are no plans and no corrections carried out

any thoughts on the us secretary of defense, lloyd austin's address a few messages directly aimed at china. what do you think the response to those messages would be? well, i think the chinese certainly do not appreciate that the, what they will perceive as a tag on the chinese position in the region and also on china's foreign policy on defense policy in the region. so he will be very curious to see what the chinese defense minister will say tomorrow. but i thought was what was interesting was also the presentations and the speeches, but other ministers that we have seen her a 2nd throughout speech and a lease to buy the donation depends minister he was saying about there's an h away . and if you as well show operating asia, you asked me to respect for observation, wasting the chinese like them as a very much because it goes the line with the chinese positions that a shows ation facia. and he was, wants to play a role in asia and then used to obey the rules that are made by the asian countries . so the separate jobs being mentioned a lot about the national order, especially the new

s. secretary of defense, lloyd austin, called on other countries to also intensify support. mr. austin says the board has reached april heaven. a moment of the meeting inc. was nato members, as well as dozens of additional countries known as the ukrainian defense contact group. here is u. s. defense secretary lloyd austin says the contact group 1st came together nearly 3 months ago. we built tremendous momentum for donations and delivery of notary assistance. and after this, this afternoon's discussions were not just going to maintain that momentum. we're gonna move even faster and push even harder. will deepen our coordination and cooperation. and we'll book bolster ukraine's armed forces to help them repel russian aggression. now and in the future. liam collins is served 27 years in the u. s. army and from 2016 to 2018, he was a defense advisor to ukraine. he is the former director of the modern war institute at west point academy, and we'd like to welcome right now a good day. and mister collins, you just got back from ukraine. i'm told how do you, how would you rather de

here at in this short tweet, us secretary of defense lloyd austin announced a new ramstein-style meetingoing to brussels to hold the next in- person meeting of the ukraine defense contact group defense leaders from literally all over the world will be there to discuss the current crisis in ukraine following an unprovoked invasion this is russia 's third international meeting dedicated to military assistance to ukraine in the fight against the russian federation. the first time it was held at the initiative of the pentagon on april 26, two months after the start of a full-scale war the venue was the rammstein air base in germany, from where the undisclosed name of the next summits appeared, then the coalition gathered representatives of the defense departments of 43 countries, the negotiations lasted more than 7 hours, and based on their results, several important decisions were made, including the creation of an advisory group on the defense of ukraine, as well as the transition of the ukrainian army on weapons of nato standards, all in order to ensure full compatibility of the armed for

spat between washington and badging over ty, ones. future on saturday, the us defense secretary lloyd austin, accused badging of intimidation and aggression towards the island. china says it's re unification with the mainland is inevitable. john, during your, we will resolutely crush any attempt to pursue taiwanese independence. let me make this clear. anyone dares to see taiwan from china, we will not hesitate to fight. we will fight at all costs, and we will fight to the end. this is the only choice for china. we have 2 correspondence covering this story. adrian brown is standing by for us in hong kong, but 1st let's go to jessica washington, who joins us live from that summit in singapore. hello there. jeff. the defense minister has reacted strongly. what did he have to say? hey, well, in an address such took around 30 minutes, he covered a lot of ground, not just talking about ty, well, but other contentious security matters in the region. the speech started on a more positive, friendly, known, friendly tone, a general taking the time to acknowledge friendly relations and strong ties wit

but lloyd austin said china should not encroach further on taiwan.le a contract dispute that caused a bitter diplomatic rift with france. the new australian prime minister, anthony albanese, said that he and the french president, emmanuel macron, were re—establishing a better relationship. travelling to the united states no longer need in months, the policy change comes three months after the uk dropped all travel restrictions. the south korean boy band bts are promoting their new album with pop—up shops in the united states. fans of the k—pop group lined up to show their support for the world's top—selling act. the bbc�*s azedeh moshiri has this report. as the world's best selling boy band, bts's new album has been widely anticipated. in just one hour and a half, the new video for the title track yet to come racked up more than 9 million views. so, to celebrate the release, they have open pop—up shops with merchandise for their american fans. i heard everybody crying, a lot. why? it is so emotional. and, it is a hot ticket, fan lined up as early as

maria: how was that meeting with lloyd austin and his counterpart in china?s cabinet sat across from chinese officialsdown dressed them, done so on the world stage this is certainly a time where we're not only concerned about chinese aggression but people are very much aware of the human rights abuses, what they're doing with the surveillance society in their own population, what they're trying to do with developing nations exporting their authoritarian regime. this is not a time when the united states should passive live accept being chastised by china. maria: i guess the defense minister of china said that anybody who gets in the way of the ccp, going after taiwan is on a path to death was the quote. >> right. this is parallel, type of rhetoric that we hear from russia. these are the types of state has you would hear previously from rogue regimes like north korea and iran. maria: yeah. >> not stable nuclear powers such as russia and china this is clearly a dangerous time. this president needs to step up to the plate. he needs to make clear this type of beha

news that happened this weekend because the defense minister of china pretty much smacked down lloyd austinaying, well, who is the mastermind behind the war in ukraine? who stands to gain the most? who's adding fuel to the fire, he asked. and then in a very stunning comment about taiwan, he basically warned the united states not to get involved in anything about taiwan saying that that is a path to death. so we'll have more about the chinese defense minister, but it doesn't appear that the ccp is backing down from america anytime soon, congressman. >> yeah. again, goes back, we've talkedded about this before, when you project weakness f from the oval office, which is exactly what is happening, you get bad things happening. i remember a few months ago former secretary of state the mike pompeo was asked the question would these the things have happened when president trump was in the white house. and i thought mike gave a great answer, he said, well, the short answer is i don't know, but i do the know this: hay didn't happen when -- they didn't happen when he was in the white house, and that

. >>> right now in brussels, defense secretary lloyd austin is meeting with his counterpart from nearlys support for ukraine. this is as ukrainian officials are warning the country's outgunned nearly 10-1, and as the russian defense ministry claims it just destroyed a warehouse of nato supplied weapons in western country which alex, would be quite significant. >> you can see the secretary of defense lloyd austin and our oren liebermann is traveling with the defense secretary. you are reporting that western intelligence officials as well as military officials believe that this is now a critical stage in this war. why do they think this is a pivotal moment? >> reporter: absolutely, 110 days or so into this war. they have told us it's a pivotal moment for a number of reasons. first, ukraine is beginning to use up soviet-era ammunition. they used it in the last few months, beginning to run out. this is a problem the u.s. and its allies were aware of and began shipping in nato, more modern weaponry. it may seem like a small difference. for example, 152 millimeter artillery ammo versus 155 mi

the meeting sets the stage for a larger nato summit at the end of the month, us defense for lloyd austin reiterated support for finland and sweden's bid to join the alliance. and said, the goals of nato have not changed. during our time together, i've encouraged my fellow ministers to do even more. we all share the responsibility to procure, prepare and provide ready capabilities and forces. to prepare this alliance for the challenges to con, nato's preeminent task has not changed to defend each and every allies sovereignty territorial integrity and independence. and that's why america's commitment to nato into article 5 remains iron clad. on wednesday, the white house announced an additional $1000000000.00 in the military for ukraine . it includes anti ship rocket systems, artillery and ammunition. there's also $225000000.00 in humanitarian aid. that's good morning from the white house correspondent. kimberly, how can he join me now? of course kimberly the funding will be a huge relief to ukraine and perhaps push european partners to do more quicker paths in the way that lloyd austin ha

any thoughts on the us secretary of defense, lloyd austin's address a few messages directly aimed at china. what do you think the response to those messages would be? well, i think my chinese certainly do not appreciate that the, what they will perceive as a tag on the chinese position in the region and also on china's foreign policy on defense policy in the region. so it will be very curious to see what the chinese defense minister will say tomorrow. but i thought was what was interesting was also the presentations and the speeches, but other ministers that we have seen her a 2nd throughout speech and a lease to buy the donation depends minister he was saying about there's an h away . and if you as well show operating asia, you asked me to respect to for observation, wasting the chinese like them as a very much because it goes along with the chinese position that a shows ation facia. i need, he was, wants to play a role in asia and then used to obey the rules that are made by the asian countries . so that the child, the 2nd child being mentioned a lot about the national order, espec

s. defense secretary lloyd austin. thank nato, chief, the insult him very for his leadership and express his support for sweden and finland applications to join the alliance. as we see countries like finland and sweden make a historic decision to apply for a middle meet membership. that's very encouraging. we welcome that, you know, these are a strong democracies who have values that are very much alive with our values and very capable countries. and so we hope that that things will continue to move forward potential port of, of their desire to join in other well use in taneesha. the main labor union is on strike to demand an increase in salaries and concessions on looming reforms. up to 3000000 members are part of the so called u g t t movement. thousands of them are holding a ronnie right now in the capital tunis. they are putting more pressure on the government headed by prison chi saeed. who's already facing a number of crises, slits bringing elisia holcman, who's in t units for his to tell us about the strike and

but lloyd austin said china should not encroach further on taiwan.maker, to settle a contract dispute that caused a bitter diplomatic rift with france. the new australian prime minister, anthony albanese, said that he and the french president, emmanuelle macron, were re—establishing a better relationship. travellers to the united states no longer have to take a covid test before boarding their flight from today. the requirement to present a negative test had been in place for seventeen months. a us districtjudge in las vegas has dismissed a lawsuit against the manchester united football star, cristiano ronaldo. kathryn mayorga alleged that the portuguese player raped her at a hotel in 2009. ronaldo denies the accusations and has never been charged. in 2010 they reportedly reached an out—of—court settlement, which ms mayorga was seeking to void in this latest lawsuit. earlier we spoke to mitra ahouraian who's an attormey based in beverly hills. she's in los angeles. this stems from this incident in 2008, 2009 in las vegas. there was a settlement betwe

wei fenghe was responding to the us defence secretary, lloyd austin, who told a security conference that its territorial claims. speaking at the same meeting, mr wei accused america of trying to contain china, and told it to stop. with me is our reporter nick marsh, who's been attending the summit over the weekend. a lot has been talked about, there were many expectations especially considering everything that is going around in the world, but all really centring about these dialogues. give us a sense of its popular so many issues, tensions have been bubbling up in this region for many years now, issues on the table at this conference included the south china sea, north korea, taiwan, of course, but there was this new dynamic coming from europe, and that was the ukraine war, and i think the tone was really sad when the prime minister of japan opens this dialogue with a quite chilling line, he said that ukraine today could be east asia tomorrow, and it really focused on is specifically the issue of taiwan, and on saturday we heard from the us secretary of defence, lloyd austin, and he had

he said the talks were honest and sincere for defense. secretary lloyd austin said they covered global and regional issues. al jazeera understands it included discussion of the war in ukraine as well. as some of the regional flush points, including taiwan and the south china sea of what we've seen on the south china sea is that despite the pandemic um, problematic actions in the south china sea have continued. these include number one ah, chinese encroachments upon fixed use of economic zones of various coastal states. the defense chiefs met on the sidelines of the shangri la dialogue. the most significant security summit in the region organizes say the importance of the 3 day conference is mostly about what happens behind closed doors. if you are one of the more than 2 dozen defense ministers that come to the shangri la dialogue, you're coming not just to speak, but in order to have a range of bilateral meetings. secretary austin ultimate with defense officials from southeast asia as the u. s. seeks to reassure countries of its commitment to the region while waging influence continues

yesterday, defense secretary lloyd austin laid out the american version for the indo—pacific and generalar in ukraine under covid—19 pandemic and for other countries to mind their own business and he said the parliament of china was not a threat to others and it was neither wise nor possible to try to contain it, and that includes the issue of taiwan. he said the chinese military would not flinch provoked. how much i think people are worried about the growing tensions in taiwan? there is a lot of worry and i've spoken to a lot of people over the weekend cannot help but draw inevitable comparisons with the war in ukraine and that the japanese by minister open a dialogue on friday seeing ukraine today could be east asia tomorrow, and this is something china doesn't really like to discuss. i was at chinese military delegation briefing and i put this comparison to them and they said china, ukraine and taiwan are tremendously different issues and taiwan is simply an internal affair for china to deal with but the language is strong today. they talked about any attempts to stir up pro—independe

. >> reporter: i'm oren liebermann in brussels where defense secretary lloyd austin gave some detailss 18 howitzers on top of those that have already been sent in and more than 36,000 rounds of ammunition. that's been one of the key weapon systems the u.s. has sent in. in addition the u.s. will send more ammunition for the high mars system, a multiple launch rocket system that is one of the more advanced and powerful weapons the u.s. has sent in. the training on that has injuries wrapped up, the top u.s. general said that should enter the fight in the coming weeks. >> this morning we have an exclusive interview with the ukrainian minister of defense, he discusses how much the u.s. and other western military officials have pledged in terms of support and for how long. cnn's matthew chance live in brussels where we just saw oren at this meeting of defense ministers. matthew, this sounds like a fascinating discussion. >> reporter: it is fascinating. and that list that you read out, john, a few moments ago about the kind of weapons that the u.s. is supplying ukraine, i mean, it's endless,

at the international sclai landscape when it comes to the security situation. >> you mentioned lloyd austin. he had strong words when it came to the subject of china and taiwan taiwan. take us through that. >> at first when austin spoke he didn't address taiwan or china directly, but the larger countries respecting the sovereignty and tdecision makin of its smaller neighbors. first he said the united states stands by its one-china policy and the taiwan relationship. but under that act it's able to provide taiwan with defensive arms and the training to use those defensive arms. he warned or expressed concern that it was china, for example its interception of aircraft in the last couple weeks as well as attempts to control the taiwan strait and administration of islands. he expressed concern about that. a major issue right there at the end of his speech. >> appreciate that from both of you. thanks so much for joining us. >>> and if you would like to safely and securely help people in ukraine, can you go to cnn.com/impact and find several ways to help there. >>> we're getting new information a

china has told the united states to stop "provoking disputes" after the defence secretary lloyd austinterritorial claims. beijing regards taiwan as part of chinese territory and says it will smash any attempt to declare independence, but lloyd austin said china should not encroach further on taiwan. royal officials in britain have insisted that prince charles "remains politically neutral" following a report that he has strongly criticised government plans to send some asylum seekers to rwanda, in central africa. an unnamed source told the times newspaper that prince charles has described the policy as "appalling" and said he was "more than disappointed" by it. the first flight carrying asylum seekers to rwanda is due to leave on tuesday. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. as prince of wales, his interventions over the years have led to accusations of meddling. charles is now moving ever closer to the throne, so this morning's headlines, suggesting he's taken a stand on the highly sensitive political issue of the government's refugee policy, are potentially problematic.