about half that size and after the old cold war, we have the baltic sea and the black sea and the south china sea and all these places to police by the u.s. navy and the challenges to it from both china and russia are growing dramatically and secondly, even ith countries like iran, any anti-shipped weapons and missiles are very sophisticated are being developed. for example, some could be in the south china sea which represent a real threat to our aircraft carriers. so in terms of strength, the united states navy is the most powerful on earth but in relative terms, other nations are growing in strength. john: go ahead. eleanor: i wouldn't use the word cry is and i think the u.s. navy still dwarfs the capacity of any other navy force in the world. and, ok, it's not good when you find a spy, a potential spy in your ranks and that's being investigated and they're being very quiet about it. so we don't know how far that goes. but the "fat leonard" scandal is typical kickbacks. it's money. and i don't connect that with the strength of the navy. so, i say no. the navy is not in crisis. whoever the

as we have been reporting the tensions in the south china sea over disputed islands between malaysia, philippines, vietnam and china. china set up on some of those islands causing additional tension. i want to bring in nbc's white house correspondent, ron allen. i am talking about the fact that we have learned during this press conference that the u.s. has agreed to lift the sale of military arms to the ban on them to vietnam. that is going to be a big talker today. i think a lot of the people might be surprised that it actually went through. >> indeed. whether it was going to happen on not on the days and weeks leading up to the trip. but that is the announcement. what president obama said about it is that it reflects how far the united states and vietnam have come since the end of the war. a lot has changed. this is a new day. i think president obama would say. to complete the normalization process he saw the lifting of the ban as something else the united states needed to do. what the practical implications of it will be are not clear. it signals how many the nations have come. boe

want to over these rocs in the south china sea? on the other hand if you are the u.s. do you want to let china just take over this region and then wake up one day and say it is now china's sphere of influence. it is a risk. it is interesting how this will play out. >> that's it for our time this week. >> today we sort of catch up to the 20th century. we have been the invisible half the congress of past seven years. we've watched our house colleagues with interests. the tv coverage of members of our colleagues in the house. robert byrd: we create another historic moment in the relationship between congress and technological advancements in communications through radio and television. our executive branch began. on television. today marks the first time in our legislative branch in its entirety will appear on that medium of communication through which most americans get their information about what our government and our country does. c-span marks the 30th anniversary of our live coverage of the u.s. senate. coverage from our the senate floor. do you trust william jeffers

's moves in the south china sea. theatic pictures capture moment and overcrowded migrant boat capsizes off the coast of libya. five people died. also coming up, the price of oil has passed $50 a barrel for the first time this year. we will tell you what is behind the move. of the disappearing act louvre museum. you could be forgiven for thinking the famous pyramid had simply vanished. we will tell you more about that. france has begun to dip into its emergency fuel reserves to deal with gas shortages as hard-line trade unions slow down the oil sector. it's not just the oil industry. electricity production could slow down with strikes and most of the country's power plants. unions are also calling for mass protest across the country. all to kill the government's reform plan that aims to make french labor laws more competitive. the government's main adversary is the hard-line union known as the cgt. they have a lot staked on this fight with the prime minister. for the only day union still defying the government in an i

qhoi that -- china claiming more than 40 nations support its expansion in the south china sea. ing more than 3,000 acres in the contested waters that are also claimed by five other nations, by the way. earlier this week two chinese fighter jets buzzed a u.s. spy plane over the south china sea, and they made all sorts of nasty comments at the same time. joining us to sort it out and to do some, i guess the word of the evening is splaining to the chinese, we are joined by former u.s. body to the united nations, john bolton, also fox news contributor. so, ambassador, 40 countries are with the chinese. does that settle it, these disputed claims in the south china sea? >> no, not at all. a lot of these countries don't even have a border or any part of their territory on an ocean or a sea that has any experience with maritime claims. this is just china -- lou: i would guess -- >> in the third world and where it delivers a lot of foreign aid. the fact is these are very real territorial disputes, and china's not waiting around for negotiation or adjudication. they're creating not just f

is taking advantage of vietnam to stir up more troubles in the south china sea. >> china's south chinaunderstanding. >> united states should look at the bigger picture. >> in the name of protecting freedom of navigation. >> stories about china's territorial rights to the waters have flooded chinese state television. what do you think of the south china sea situation. >> translator: on the streets of beijing, many wanted to avoid politics. but retiree had no qualms. the u.s. says these are international waters and not china -- the u.s. is on the other side of the pacific he said. we don't go there. but they come here to meddle in our matters. now that president obama is in japan, for the g7 he will meet with japanese prime minister abe who also has serious concerns about china's claims to the region's waters. >> hillary clinton's campaign is downplaying a report by the state department's inspector general over her use of a private e-mail server. while secretary of state. the report conclude clinton violated the department's cybersecurity guidelines. it points out hackers tried to get in

fleet commander joseph aucoin spoke to the navy about operations in the south china sea. >> we will sail and operate wherever international law allows. we do challenge excessive maritime claims. >> his comments were apparently in response to china's increased maritime activity in the region. beijing officials last month rejected a u.s. aircraft carrier's request to make a port call in hong kong. the commander said the navys of both countries will not let that minor disagreement damage their relationship. aucoin stressed the importance of deepening u.s./china military exchange. the chinese navy plans to participate in a massive u.s.-led multinational drill this year. china took part in the exercise two years ago. >>> myanmar's defacto leader, aung san suu kyi, has visited neighboring laos. it's her first trip abroad since the democratic icon assumed the post of state counselor. laotian state-run tv showed aung san suu kyi and her close ally, the president, being greeted by laos's president. observers say her visit to the capital was carefully planned as countries such as china, the u.s.,

shared interest in countering what they see as china's aggressive moves to sort of sense at the south chinaea for its territorial claims. host: i will follow up with the next point, our line for .ndependents, (202)-748-8002 for those watching outside of the united states, on the web or on the bbc parliament channel, (202)-748-8003. the numbers are on the bottom of the screen. this is from joe d, when we let it not, there was no talk about nationbuilding. is that why iraq and afghanistan are so hard to get over? are there parallels? guest: there are parallels and differences. the u.s.ne parallel is military in vietnam was faced with an enemy difficult to fight because they are fighting against insurgency, a guerrilla war tactic and the u.s. military at the time was not accustomed to that at all and it was a difficult and it did not go well. ofre was that kind nationbuilding effort at the time, a lot of the nonmilitary assistance and programs that at the time were designed to bolster vietnam as a politically strong entity, which failed. in iraq and afghanistan, same thing where we have tried

relations between the two countries are improving amid the changing security environment in the south china sea. china claims almost the entire maritime area as its own, while vietnam and other southeast asian countries claim parts of it. on monday, obama announced a complete lifting of an embargo on sales of lethal weapons to vietnam. the measure was put in place in 1984 amid concerns over the country's human rights record, but u.s. lawmakers and activists urged president obama to press for more progress before lefting the ban. on tuesday obama said he had significant concerns over civil liberties in vietnam. he mentioned that several activists had been invited but were prevented from meeting him. >> i think it's an indication of the fact that although there has been some modest progress and it is our hope that through some of the legal reforms that are being drafted and passed there will be more progress. there are still folks who find it very difficult to assemble and organize peacefully around issues that they care deeply about. >> obama flew on to ho chi minh city the commercial hub of

navy patrol plane over the south china sea. a defense department spokesperson says the incident occurred on tuesday while the u.s. reconnaissance ep 3 aircraft was surveying international airspace. the spokesperson also said the department is addressing the issue through military and diplomatic channels. details are scarce but ap reports that the two shenyang j-11 fighters flew within about 15 meters of the u.s. aircraft. in 2014 a chinese fighter flew dangerously close in the south china sea. in 2001 two jets collided in the same area. last year both sides agreed on rules to avoid accidental encounters by military aircraft. the pentagon says it has seen improvements in china's actions over the past year. a senior chinese official has denounced activists seeking independence for hong kong during a visit to the territory. he is the third highest r ranki member of the chinese communist party. >> translator: a small number of people are resisting the chinese government and pursuing independence for hong kong. >> he says the activi

relations between the two countries are improving as the security environment in the south china sea changes. china claims almost the entire south china sea as its own. vietnam and southeast asian countries claim parts of it. >> it's my belief that with respect to the south china sea, although the united states doesn't support any particular claim, we are supportive of the notion that these issues should be resolved peacefully, diplomatically, in accordance with international norms and rules and not based on who is the bigger party to throw their weight around a little more. >> translator: vietnam highly commands the decision made by the united states to fully lift the ban of lethal weapon sales to vietnam. it reflects the complete normalization of the relationship between the two countries. >> obama's visit comes 41 years after the end of the war. the embargo was put in place in 1984 amid concern over vietnam's human rights record. the u.s. lawmakers and activists were urging obama to press vietnam to make more progress on human rights before lifting it. >>> police in northern thaila

and china will be assessing the new leader's stance on how to break the deadlock in the south china sea. on monday duterte told reporters he would seek multinational talks to discussion disputes over the resource-research waters there. >> i would say to china do not claim anything there. i will not insist, also. but then i will just keep a blind eye. and if you don't want a joint venture, fine. to get the gas and oil. so i'd be happy if i do not produce the hardware, if i just say, well, there are a lot of filipinos that work with you. >>> outgoing president aquino has strengthened military ties with the u.s. in march the philippines agreed with the united states to jointly use five philippine bases including one near the spratly islands in the south china sea. >> the united states congratulations the philippines on holding inclusive and democratic elections. our two nations have strong ties based on our shared respect for democratic values we look forward to continuing the ties. >> we hope the new government will take the appropriate steps with us to deal with the confrontation. >> inv

want to ask you -- the philippines has brought an arbitration case against china's claims in the south china sea into the convention under the law of the sea. if the ruling goes in the philippines favor as expected and if china refused to abide by it, what are the implications for the philippines and the claimants of the south china sea and how would this change the u.s. approach in the south china sea? >> thank you. first, i would say something that's incredibly important to us and our partners in two ways. first of all, 25% of all traded goods, 25% of all oil that travels by sea goes through the south china sea. and indeed, one third over all of liquified natural gas. we have no position, as you know, into the petra scandal. this comes a day after the meeting that will vote on whether to proceed on the trial and likely they will vote yes which its rulings are binding on the parties. we have worked very hard to establish skroosz the region and understand that this is an appropriate mechanism. we said to the chinese, if you are given satisfaction on any aspect, we will be the first 1 to stan

sea and how would this change the us approach in the south china sea? >> thank you. first i'd say this is, self china is incredibly important in two ways. first of all, 20 percent of all traded goods, 25 percent of all oil that travels by c goes through the south china sea. and indeed, one third overall of liquefied natural gas. we have no position as you know on the sovereignty claims. were not claimant ourselves but we have a strong interest in the way these trains are routed by any claimant and a very strong interest in maintaining freedom of navigation and making sure disputes are resolved peacefully and countries abide by international law. and these are the very interests that china has been challenging with some of its actions including the massive reclamation's and militarization of these land features as well as various assertions that are not justified under international law. the case referred to as an important moment. this is an arbitration case brought by the teams with china and we expect a decision by the tribunal in the coming months. ch

the fact that president obama is here in hanoi, and even if he the not talk about th south china sea, shoring up the relationship is an important signal to china. have upset the vietnamese with their increasing presence in the south china sea, including waters that vietnam claims as its own. hisident obama reiterating message that the u.s. once the dispute in that region to be settled diplomatically and that he wants the rule of law to be respected and that the u.s. will continue to do overflights and navigation operations in the south china sea, sending a key strategic message to china and to the u.s. allies, including not limited to vietnam, that the u.s. is at least watching, even if it is not involved in the dispute, because the u.s. has no claims in that region. angie: thank you for watching it closely for us as you travel with the president. coming up next, is the door still open for a fed rate hike in june? we were asked, coming up. ♪ angie: 8:15 a.m. in hong kong, the stories making headlines. egypt sending a submarine to search for flight recorders, warned against jumping to

increasingly active in the efforts to win indonesia over to their own side as tension increases in the south china sea. chinese president xi jinping and indonesian president joko widodo agreed to step up cooperation between their country's supply industries. china provides anti-missiles to indonesia. the countries are also discussing radio equipment. meanwhile, u.s. president barack obama promised to cooperate in developing equipment for indonesia's navy. the u.s. has already supplied it with fighter aircraft and attack helicopters. japan is also reaching out to indonesia. last december saw the first meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of the two countries. japanese self-defense force personal visited an advanced service belonging to the indonesian navy. japan offers to help the force develop the nautical charts it needs to deploy submarines. >> translator: depending on what the indonesian navy wants, we will consider helping them develop new skills. >> reporter: china is also offering generous support in the form of software. >> reporter: beijing has helped arrange chinese language lesso

beaten or chased away and the pair i sell islands are its sovereign territory along with most of the south chinas building manmade islands, laying down airstrips, deploying surface-to-air missiles in defiance of competing claims by other regional players. and the u.s. has waded into the fight, challenging china by running freedom of navigation operations in the region and calling for an end to the militarization of the area. washington's message seems to have done little to sway local opinion. >> concerning america's idea of a peaceful solution between vietnam and china, even with this peaceful solution, the rights of vietnam to these islands are undeniable. >> reporter: cnn wasn't allowed to speak to the fishermen without a government minder present. but vietnamese officials are keen to show them off as victims of china's aggression. >> translator: we protect our country for the next generation. >> reporter: it's an elevated calling for the fishermen of a remote island in its ongoing dispute with china, vietnam is mustering defenders wherever it can find them. saima mohsin, cnn. >>> indonesia's

china is building a massive fortress in the middle of the south china sea, okay? yet they're ripping no inping m us left and right. we rebuilt china. single handedly what they've

i can say that in past dialogues on the south china sea it's really has been an issue of discussion. >> he referred to china using coercive tactics. can you explain what that is with what you're referring to? >> we talk about the report but we see china and their forces using tactics such as reclamation, at times some of their vessels and coast guard's acting in unprofessional or assertive manners in the divinity of military forces are fishing vessels with other countries in a way that is designed to attempt to establish a degree of control around disputed areas. as we know to the report it seems to us that these activities are designed to stay below the threshold of conflict and gradually demonstrate and assert claims that other countries dispute. >> have a question not related. for years, this report has seen as a benchmark between china and taiwan's relative military constraints. you said china on average spend 9% or so. has taiwan kept the pace, i have seen statistics indicate of the last decade that it's been relatively flat where china is exponentially increase. what is your tak

in the south china sea, we talked about the three principles of maritime law. meaning that any claims in maritime areas should be done in international law. force or threat of force should not be used to push through one's claims. peaceful means should be the main way to resolve disputes. these three principles i counted, world leaders agreed, the g7 leaders agreed with me. as for north korea, the nuclear testing in january of this year as well as the repeated testing of elastic missiles following that -- ballistic missiles following that was a situation i explained. the g7 agrees that we cannot tolerate or accept north korea's nuclear program, and we agreed to closely coordinate so that we could hold north korea to its previous commitment. i also explained the definition of the abduction issue for us. the g7 leaders expressed a concern about japan's abduction issue. it has been clearly incorporated to our communicate. -- communique. we were not able to present the crisis that followed the collapse of the lehman brothers. we are not optimistic on the outlook of

abide by the international rules of the road when it comes to resolving competing claims in the south china sea. when you're an economy as large as china, when you're as influential as china is, particularly in that region of the world, then you benefit from the ability of disputes to be resolved without going to war. you benefit from disputes being resolved with the expectation that everybody's going to follow the rules. that's the case we make to china. i think that's an indication of how we're able to work with china, how we welcome a rising china, but, look, we're going to have our differences and we're not going to shy away from expressing those. reporter: quick question on iran. the secretary of state in europe. does the white house want to see more european banks do business in iran? mr. earnest: i think what the white house wants is to fulfill our responsibility to international financial institutions, to describe to them exactly what is allowed and what's not allowed when it comes to doing business with iran. that's something that has been part of not just secretary lue's job descr

south china sea and the philippines. in 1999, this is about the -- this is the relative strength of china in the red and united states in the blue. it's about equal. let's go to the year 2015. this is the chinese build-up with ships, ships, submarines and planes, and the united states' military strength in the area in 2015 -- i got this from pacific command -- is about the same. and pacific command expects that in 2020, if i can get the poster, it's going to look like this. that china will have in all of these planes, intercontinental ballistic missiles, ships, submarines, and the united states' strength in the area still is going to be just about the same. without going into the details of how much of everything, do you agree that that is what is occurring in south china? >> thank you, congressman. we've certainly seen a significant buildup in china's military capacity over the last couple of decades and in recent years. some of that, i guess on one level, is not surprising as china grows and is more engaged in the regi

especially in regards to disputed islands in the south china sea. >> 40 years after the vietnam war, the former enemies renegotiated a new alliance. it also included a series of new commercial deals. the key announcement from u.s. president barack obama was ending the arms embargo to the communist country with the caveat over human rights. >> the united states is officially releasing the ban that has been in place for 50 years. sales will need to meet strict requirements but this change will ensure that vietnam has access to arms that they n needo defend itself. the move is seenen as a street - strategic rethink right washington as china continues to assert its territorial rights in the south china sea. the vietnamese people turned out in numbers. they showed their optimism about a new beginning with the united states. anchor: a police officer has been acquitted of all charges in the case of freddie gray which sparked a national debate over police violence. edward nero is one of six officers being charged. a judge today found him not guilty. freddie gray died in april 2015 a week aft

there has been increasingly aggressive action by the chinese in and around the south china sea and eastilding up man-made islands, which are in contravention of international law. they have made claims that they have certain territorial rights around those islands that would again be in violation of international law, so this is potentially part of a disturbing trend line as the chinese try to push their military envelope into greater parts of the seas surrounding their main land, so i think we have to watch this carefully. the good news is that president obama and the chinese premier have had a dialogue, we have been able to work together to resolve those differences and i hope we will in this case as well. >> worries me and i am sure it worries you as well, seems to be a pattern of chinese doing this to aircraft, 50 feet is dangerously close. russian aircraft doing the same against u.s. military ships and aircraft. it seems to be a taunting if you will by china and russia against the united states. do you see a disturbing pattern there? >> i certainly see a disturbing pattern but it i

happening in recent years is that japan is on the front line with regards to east china and the south china seas. at the very big front of the front line is the east china sea dispute. so they have been worried about being entangled with the united states, in a conflict in which they had no direct interest in. for the first time, the united states finds itself inside the possibility that it might get pulled into a conflict in which it has no interest. that complex would be difficult to manage and is the focal point of chinese and japanese nationalism. the second big problem for us is that we would like our allies, and we are encouraging our allies, to cooperate. they don't think an east asian version of nato will form soon. 1950's, the favorite , and ithim was neato isn't likely. but a greater cooperation is taking place and we would like to encourage it. two of the most important potential form of cooperation, south korea and japan, are deeply divided over the history issue. so it creates problems for us. what should be done? well, there are all sorts of things that could be done in theory

and japan over disputes in the south china sea. g says japan is failing to perform its duty by trying to tarnish china's image. the ministry said washington is trying to cause trouble in the area by stepping up its military presence. french andired italian companies to locate the black boxes from flight 804 as the search continues in the eastern mediterranean. the voice and data recorders are presumed to be on the seabed at a depth of 3000 meters. conducted on being the small body parts retrieved so far. the plane was carrying 66 passengers and crew when it crashed en route from paris to cairo. has causedater main part of a riverbank in florence to collapse. the sinkhole appeared on the river arno. power and water supplies were severed, and local people were your homes.ve it is due to break in a 60 senate leader waterpipe, and not because the riverbank is falling away. powered by over 2400 journalists and 150 bureaus around the world, this is bloomberg news. rishaad: up next, spreading its wings, air asia plans to expand its fleet,

policy, duterte has said he'd talk to china about its expanding claims and military activity in the south china sea. but, if nothing changed, he says he'd sail to one of beijing's new artificial islands and plant the philippine flag. today, china's foreign ministry voiced hope for progress with the new leader. ( translated ): china and the philippines have a traditional friendship. we indeed hope that the new government of the philippines would meet china halfway, taking concrete measures to properly deal with the disputes so as to put the ties of the two countries back on the track of sound development. >> sreenivasan: duterte has also expressed wariness about closer security ties with the u.s., but yesterday, he called for talks to include the u.s., japan and australia. >> sreenivasan: in washington, a white house spokesman said today: "we look forward to strengthening and deepening" ties with the philippines. but policy questions aside, duterte's hard-line approach has sparked concerns that he could be a dictator-in-the-making, in a country with an authoritarian past. in 1972, president ferd

. >> the leaders talked about the south china sea. they agreed to urge north not to take what they call provocative action. on the global economy, the leaders talked about the ways to boost it. abe pointed out the world is at a turning point. he said there's a risk of economic crisis if countries fail to take the necessary measures. they agreed on the importance of public an private investment. they decided to leave the timing an scale up to each country. world leader argued that using the word crisis is going too far. they work on how to describe the current situation in the final summit statement that will be released friday. here in japan we're watching to see if that prompts prime minister abe to put off raising japan's consumption tax planned for next april. >> the summit is an opportunity for the host nation to promote itself to the world. japan is taking full advantage. range of events showcasing japanese culture and technology has been put on for visitors and the media. they share a core theme of sustainability. >> the vehicle

we're going to have intentitens tibet and tensions involving the south china sea. we need to cooperate with china where we can. regional security, energy security. perhaps trade. but we need to manage the differences that are going to exist. so cooperate where we can, manage the differences where they exist. but we will certainly need to maintain a robust -- continue to maintain a robust presence, military presence in the pacific in the form of the 7th fleet to gourd against any chiness efforts to achieve hogemeny in that part of the world. all i'm saying, it's not preordained the united states and china are going to become enemies at least in my opinion if you play our cards right. >> i want to add a little bit to that. the 7 th fleet you mentioned, freedom of navigation operations, what more should we be doing in the south china sea in addition to this question, mr. donilon, should we also be pursuing other asymmetric actions, diplomatic channels in addition to our right of passage exercise? >> we should be doing all the diplomacy we can, absolutely but freedom of

also looming over the summit, beijing's posturing in the contested waters of the south china sea. china itself is not a g7 number but the summit is expected to produce a statement on the aggressive expansion by china taking place. reporter: it may look like these chinese tourists are enjoying an idyllic summer holiday. but their presence is as much about politics as it is about pleasure. their results -- it is one of a number of areas controlled by china but claimed i other countries. just under one year ago, the scene near this each looked very different. several clashes erected between chinese and the enemy's vessel's , set off by china's controversial decicision to dril for oil in the disputed waterer. vietnam refused to a accept china's claim to sovereignty, resulting in a standoff which was eventually settled. but analysts say the risk of armed conflict in the region could grope as china becomes more assertive about its territorial claims. beijing defined its territory with the so-called callused tongue, so-called because of its shape. neighboring states like vietnam and the

we also heard a lot about these tensions that have mounted in the south china sea, particularly duringchecks. -- checks between shinzo abe and barack obama. is urging at peaceful resolution of disputes. coming from his vietnam trip, he is saying that any tensions between china and vietnam in the philippines are not of our making. pushing a little bit of the blame there. is he says that china responsible for resolving these issues. china was pretty -- take a listen. >> the g-7 summit should be focused on global economic management and cooperation. however, as a hosting company -- as a hosting country, japan is being selfish and playing petty games will stop -- petty games. this is not in the interest of the g-7. >> we thought we would keep the -- basic simple of is aiple of conduct, which strategic relationship based upon mutual interest. two leaders already committed to this principle. we are seeing gradual improvement in every aspect of relations. so we will keep this going. meetings onr those friday, that's when president barack obama is going to be toding further left hiroshima. shi

china and vietnam have a dispute over islands in the south china sea. the u.s. 's influence in this region by helping the u.s.'s other allies including vietnam. china doesn't always follow the rules. we saw just this past week, chinese planes do this unsafe intercept of a u.s. plane, flying within 50 feet of it. when the president arrived here in hanoi, they took a route that avoided the south china sea altogether. the influence of china is always an issue that overshadows any presidential trip to asia. >>> "saturday night live" getting lots of laughs over the battle between bernie sanders and hillary clinton. that's next. >> what can i get for you two? >> i'll have a beer. a new brand that people are flocking to. something refreshing and revolutionary. something that draws huge crowds. >> i'll have whatever beer no one likes but gets the job done. g and when we actually do is one of the reasons why too many of us aren't prepared for retirement. just start as early as you can. it's going to pay off in the future. if we all start saving a little more today, we'll

is taking advantage of vietnam to stir up more troubles in the south china sea." >> china's south chinaed states should look at a bigger picture -- >> in the name of protecting freedom of navigation. >> reporter: stories about china's territorial right to the waters have flooded chinese state television. what do you think of the south china sea [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: on the streets of beijing, many wanted to avoid politics. >> no, no, no. >> reporter: no? a retiree had no qualms. the u.s. says that these are international waters, and not china's. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: the u.s. is on the other side of the pacific, he said. we don't go there, but they come here to meddle in our matters. now that president obama is in japan for the g7, he'll meet with japanese prime minister abe who says he also has serious concerns about china's claims to the region's waters. gayle? >> thank you. >>> paul mccartney is talking about his own hour of darkness when the beatles broke up. ♪ all the broken hearted people living in the world agree ♪ ♪ there will be an answ

improve the relationship with vietnam, not because of china's increasing aggressive activities in the south china. and despite that wording china is major concern in this region, china has been converting several south china sea reefs into artificial islands with buildings and artificial airstrips not far away from the vietnamese coast. so the relationship between these former enemies is improving. this is all changing very carefully. diane, phillip. >> that was bob woodruff reporting. >>> now to the latest in the battle for the white house. some new polls are showing donald trump and hillary clinton locked in an extremely tight race. >> our own abc news/washington post poll has donald trump pulling slightly ahead of hillary clinton by two points. that's a statistical dead heat. it's a dramatic shift from march when clinton had a nine-point lead. >> as clinton and trump continue to take verbal swipes at each other, bill clinton is now moving in. in a rare move former president bill clinton actually mentioned donald trump by name. during a campaign stop near bakersfield, california, he blasted the

why the us says the region is fair game. >> heather: tensions rising in the south china sea. hina scrambling fighter jets after a us missile destroyer sale within 12 nautical miles of a disputed island. really, just a coral reef that has been built up into an island by the chinese. chinese officials say the vessel was in an area without its permission but the us says it will operate with wherever international law allows it to operate. china claims the islands belong to them though that itself is widely disputed. china says the us presence there prove that its military buildup is now necessary. joining usnow , captain chuck nash, retired navy captain and a military analyst. captain ^ what is the significance of what china did to our us naval ships to scramble to the area until we finallyleft . >> i think they ar that anytime we come into an area they lay claim to, they are going to react to it and actually, what we need to keep doing is exactly what we are doing. the united states is a maritime nation so first and foremost, we cannot and must not ever up centuries old traditio

also back towards the west, we are looking at more rain showers into south eastern china where the rainy season is in place over there. it's a threat of flooding out there as well. one thing this whole system back toward the north is doing is kicking up the dust. even if you're not looking at the precipitation, you might be having some impacts from this adversely in the threat of this. the yellow sand, that's going to be bringing in the chance of maybe some itchy eyes and dry conditions. the worst of it will be across the korean peninsula but as we go into saturday shifting over there towards japan. at the very least at sun set and sunrise. you might be seeing some extra colors in the sky. this helps refract the light. there is the chance of rather beautiful sunset as you go into saturday evening maybe into the tokyo area. all right. here over towards the americas, what we have going on is just this meandering jet stream that's dominating the overall weather pattern. thunderstorms expected in the pacific northwest. there's the chance of some large hail, maybe some damaging winds and freq

kissinger: the parasol islands is a group of islands in the south china sea, located between china and vietnam. depending on which point of land you measure the distance, they are either closer to vietnam or china, so that leads to this issue. the chinese claimed these islands because hundreds of years ago, a chinese angler through a line at the pacific and he said everything on that side belongs to china. so, and they had already been claimed. the vietnamese also claimed these islands. and the american position, with respect to the islands, has been consistently that we do not take a position of the sovereignty of these islands. in 1974, in the midst of watergate, in the middle east, i can assure you that these islands were not for most on our minds. but, there is no agreement that was ever signed in between, that gave china a right to occupy these islands. nor have the chinese ever claimed that. so, i think there was no specific negotiation. mark: your question? >> i spent two years in a communist prison thanks to the agreement you signed with hanoi in 1973. 47 years ago you forced,