although the redline in the south china sea. naudible] china didn't do it and it was quite clear they were too late but today there's no redline in the south china sea. perhaps the u.s. and the allies need to discuss what should be the realistic redline and have to discuss if china crosses the redline what should be our response. >> in the final word from sarah on the. >> i think it may not have such a dramatic effect but stopping them would have a very negative effect so that is perhaps not really an option. the other thing i sometimes wonder about the real purpose and apart from demonstrating your apart of the island, in some cases they think you should look at the timing and location of where the ship actually conducted. i think they may be there to do surveillance on the chinese activity. for instance, when the last launch happened in july 2017 failed, for some reason, on the same day there was a freedom of navigation operation very near the island that tracks these launches and this ship may have been there to gather data on

what is needed is a red line in the south china sea. although the obama redline and syria fail the red line was -- in china didn't do it. and the administration was quite clear on it. today, there is no redline in the south china sea. perhaps the u.s. and allies need to discuss what should be the redline we have to discuss if china crosses that what should be our collective response. >> i think for it not to have such a dramatic x effect for stopping it but perhaps that's not really an option. i sometimes wonder about the real purpose and apart from just demonstrating it in some cases you look at timing and location i think they could be there for surveillance on the chinese activity. when the last in july 2017 fail there is the freedom of navigation operation very near that tracks these lunches. the ship may have been there to gather data from the launch, this is also an aspect nudges the signaling and symbol behind it. i we keep them up because nobody else can do them even one british ship every blue moon won't make much of a differenc

i think what is needed is a redline in the south china sea. ough obama's red light in syria failed, i think obama's red light and south china sea was successful. the red line was -- [inaudible] china didn't do it and obama administration was quite clear, although it was too late. but today there is no redline in south china sea. perhaps u.s. and its allies need to discuss what should be the realistic redline to send, and we have to discuss it china crosses that redline, what should be our collective response. >> final word from sarah on this. >> well, i think it may not have such a dramatic effect, but stopping them would definitely have a negative affect, like signaling okay, we give up. so that is perhaps not really an option. another thing i sometimes what about the real purpose of -- [inaudible] apart from just didn't see that we sailed past your artificial island, in some cases i think look at the timing and location of where the ships actually conduct. i think they may be there also to do surveillance on the chinese activities. for instan

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in the south china sea. he two countries last year over a strategic plateau called doklam. it's claimed by both china and the himalayan nation of bhutan. india supports bhutan's claims and when the chinese tried to build a road there, indian troops blocked the project — the impasse putting bhutan in an uncomfortable position. anbarasan ethirajan reports from the capital, thimphu. bhutan's natural beauty is breathtaking. it's often described as the last shangri—la, but of late, there is an undercurrent of tension here. the problem is not inside bhutan but along its borders. doklam, a remote but strategic plateau between china, india and bhutan. india says any attempt by china to build a road there will be a threat to its security, but for bhutan, the flareup was a wake—up call. doklam was insignificant until it became the controversial issue it was a few months ago, to most bhutanese. most bhutanese don't even know where doklam is, the majority have never been to doklam, and it became a matter of contention an

significant military presence that can really influence the freedom of navigation throughout the south china seacan challenge this sort of us naval might directly. but china's neighbours have seen its intent and they know beijing will never sail away across the pacific ocean. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in the south china sea. now, a 30th consecutive newspoll survey in australia shows prime minister malcolm turnbull‘s conservative government trailing the labor opposition. it's an embarrassing milestone for mr turnbull, since he used the 30 opinion—poll benchmark to justify ousting his predecessor tony abbott in 2015. the bbc‘s phil mercer in sydney told us what this could mean for mr turnbull. malcolm turnbull has said that he regrets making those comments about tony abbott's performances in the opinion polls when he was ousting the former leader, back in 2015. tony abbott is still agitating, he is still in parliament, he's a backbench mp, would he be able to mount a challenge against malcolm turnbull? many people in australian consider him to be yesterday's man. there are other potential

in the middle of the south china sea, the u,a middle of the south china sea, the u, a crew of the usss going about calmly what is extraordinary business. it is not what they are doing that has brought me out here, it is where they are doing it. we are about 300 nautical miles north—east of singapore, over there is vietnam's, over that way is indonesia and the philippine. somewhere to the north of here, a chinese fleet has been spotted heading south. b satellite photos taken at the end of march so 40 photos taken at the end of march so a0 chinese ships heading to see. in the middle, the clear outline of an aircraft carrier. the ship is china's first operational carrier. it is the largest fleet china has ever sent into the south china sea, it isa ever sent into the south china sea, it is a demonstration of beijing's growing naval power and intention to challenge america's dominance of. on board the uss roosevelt, the strike group commander is unfazed. there is no doubt that aircraft carriers make a statement where they go and statement is that we are a professional navy and we are here

admiral davidson, i mentioned that several of us just returned from the south china sea. we are observing what china's activity has been -- they have been unprecedented in the past. right now they have an agenda of military expansionism and we are familiar with what they did with their -- i have often said what they have done illegally with their seven outposts creating islands out there, all of them being singularly for military purposes. we're talking about over 3000. these are islands that they have created. people talk about reclamation projects. it is not reclaiming because they didn't exist before. they have runways and cannons and everything is military. it is pretty scary. china conducted the largest naval parade in the country's history. they announced a five fire exercise in the taiwan strait to be this week. the last exercise was in 2015 in the lead up to taiwan's presidential elections. we do believe china is militarizing the south china sea despite official claims to the contrary. davidson: i do. they're building the infrastructure next sincerity to support tr

been in shanghai presenting china as the guarantor of global trade now he was sailing in the south china sea presenting china as really the guarantor of military security in the south in the pacific asia region so i think that was essentially his message and i don't think really it had much to do with china's claim to the south china sea i think that china was also sending a message that you know china's military is getting stronger it is getting bigger and it is able to defend itself the fact that its aircraft carrier was on display is significant this is a soviet era vessel that it bought from ukraine it's now been refurbished also they had a nuclear powered submarine as well as fighter planes and bombers it was a real awesome display of chinese military might and you know tensions i think are going to rise even further next week martin because china is now announced it's going to hold live fire drills in the taiwan straits these are the first live fire drills that china has held in that area in more than twenty years and i would imagine that next week you're going to see taiwan's military

came as china's maybe concluded its biggest ever fleet review in the contested waters of the south china sea by china correspondent adrian brown reports. in the sea where so many countries now have territorial claims an unprecedented display of chinese military power image is likely to unsettle some of china's neighbors it was the top story on chinese state television running for more than twenty two minutes the fleet review involved forty eight warships a nuclear powered submarine and china's sole operating aircraft carrier looming the display also included seventy six aircraft including bombers as well as ten thousand servicemen and women. will all dressed for battle issuing orders their commander in chief president xi jinping armed with words for a military he's determined to strengthen. building is strong the v.a. has never become so urgent as to day will carry out the thought of beauty in a strong military a new era. just forty eight hours earlier before an audience that included world leaders president xi had sought to present china as the guarantor of free trade now in the south china

presented china as the guarantor of global free trade he sailed into the contested waters of the south china sea to position china as the guarantor of security in the asia pacific region and i think he also had another message these are our waters now and we have the strength the power and the ability to defend them this was a huge military display involving some forty eight aircraft fighter planes a nuclear powered submarines and also china's aircraft carrier the looming a refurbished soviet era carrier and of course this happened at the very time the three u.s. aircraft carrier battle groups were also sailing through these same waters and tensions i think are going to rise even further next week because china has announced it's going to be conducting live fire drills in the taiwan straits on the eighteenth of april next wednesday and it's fair to assume that taiwan's military will be on full alert next week. still ahead on al-jazeera in the line of via palestinian journalists covering the protests in gaza say they're being targeted by israeli forces i give them. all the way. and pushing at the

but the geography of the south china sea is changing, literally. hat those islands have been tended to advanced military outposts. i asked the commander of the us pacific fleet how concerned he is? unfortunately, we are left with a we'll wait and see. without the clarity of the outcome, what is the intent of the establishment of such a significant military presence, that can really influence the freedom of navigation throughout the south china sea. it'll be a long time before china can challenge this sort of us naval might directly. but china's neighbours have seen its intent. and they know beijing will never sail away across the pacific ocean. it's been a week since winnie madikizela—mandela passed away and the discussion over her legacy continues. one of the most contentious areas is over the death of teenage political activist stompie seipei. ms madikizela—mandela was implicated in his murder in 1989 and convicted for his kidnapping. but now stompie‘s mother, joyce, says she doesn't believe that the former first lady was involved in her son's mur

our allies in the south china sea, we have always depended upon now playing both sides. you see the visibility of the increase in china. that is pretty scary. general lori robinson you mentioned in a flattering way. you did the right thing there. she was in oklahoma white sometime with tinker. she said something that i thought was pretty remarkable. feell ask you what you about the statement she made. this was before this committee just a short while ago. in february of 18. i am 100% confident in my ability to defend the united states of america against a north korean ballistic missile. general, do you agree with her? as she convinced you? gen. o'shaughnessy: she has. i would say with high confidence that i believe the ground basement defense system in place has the ability to defend against a ballistic missile strike. i well as the current, and have a high sense of confidence that we can defend against the north korean ballistic missile. sen. inhofe: several of us were also up in greeley, alaska. it is disturbing to me that nine years ago, we pulled the rug out under the

people say $a trillion of commerce over the south china sea he year. t a lot of goods that transverse the south china sea. what china has done in these drizzle, they lined up their ships like they did in the 19th century 2 x 2 and the. you is to intimidate. gregg: do we need to just maintain a presence? >> we need to do more than maintain a presence. we need to take back the area china claimed in early 2012. the obama administration didn't stop the chinese from doing that. and what happened? china just increased its ambitions after that, pressuring island in the south china sea and east china sea and pressuring japan. there may be some pain in the near term, but the acts of china have been for so long so malicious and damage together u.s. economy, is it right that the president is taking action? >> it's absolutely right. there are a lot of people equitabling over his tactics. but the important point about this president is he's fighting back. this is important because the chinese have been maliciously taking up seattle intellectual property and doing ot

admiral davidson, i'd like to return to what the chairman discussed, the artificial islands in the south china sea. why is china building those islands? >> china has long claimed the south china sea as their own. it is my belief they intend to establish the military structure that will help them control the air and sea lanes through that region of the world. >> do you have any doubt that despite their militarization of those islands that the united states navy and air force can keep those lines of communications open throughout the south china sea? >> it is our job. yes, sir. >> how much do those islands raise the stakes for our partnership with countries like vietnam, the philippines, malaysia, australia, taiwan? >> well, i think it makes it troubling. their security relationships with us are very, very important to us and also important to their security. these islands are in areas in which there are conflicting claims. and while we take no position on how that's resolved, we do expect to see them resolved with mutual consent and as international law allows. it's creating uncertainty amongst our

you that several of us just returned from the south china sea. and we're observing what china's activities have been. it's just been unprecedented in the past. right now they have an agenda of military modernization, expansionism and we are familiar with what they have done with their seven -- i've often said, what they have done illegally with their seven outposts. it's creating irelands out there. all of them being singularly for military purposes. now we're talking about over 3,000. these are islands that they have created. people are talking about reclamation projects. not reclaiming, because they didn't exist before. but nonetheless, we know they have runways they have cannons, everything in there is military. and it's really pretty scary. china recently conducted the largest naval parade in the country's history. they announced a five-fire exercise. a live-fire exercise in the

an arbitration tribunals ruled against china's claims to the strategic spratly islands in the south china sea in two thousand and fifteen the us navy rehearsal the blockade that would cut china's lifeline of oil and trade and role materials. the danger of confrontation grows by the day. the u.s. navy is on the doorstep of china regardless of disputed islands and is there with low draw off ships planes battle groups it's right on the doorstep of chinese ships what a few quid lindt was off california where we ask ourselves that question regularly and it's important to put yourself in the other guy's shoes so we don't operate in the pacific in an effort to scare china to contain china to back foot china our operations and our presence in first of all is warmly welcomed by the vast majority of the coastal states but secondly is fully accepted by the chinese time after time it's an excuse me is it fully accepted my impression there will by their words the chinese version is this kid. then this is what they scared off unloose of bases right around china. mommas drug war ships a provocation of law t

primed to regard china as a new enemy china's alarming creation of entirely new territory in the south china sea is one part of a broader military push that some fear is to challenge us dominance in the region. china is building and strips in the south china sea on disputed islands condemned by an international tribunals. this is now a flashpoint for war between china and america. what is not news is that china itself is under threat. these american bases form a joint news in circling china with missiles bombers warships all the way from a straight through the pacific to asia and beyond. i mean if you were in beijing looking out stood on the tallest building in beijing and looked out of the pacific ocean you'd see american warships you'd see guam is about to sink because there's so many missiles pointed at china you look up the korean see american armaments pointing at china you'd see japan which is basically. japan's a glove over the american fist i think if i was chinese i'd have a little to worry about about american aggressiveness and we have china surrounded and we're doing more all the tim

in the south china sea there been no military forces nobility bases there that china except the unitedstates military base in the south china sea and that even in the philippines because the united states withdrew its forces in the philippines the united states is back in the philippines the philippines and the united states have announced five different locations scattered all throughout the philippines where u.s. troops will be stationed on a rotational basis this threat to china from yet more u.s. bases on its doorstep was not an issue when an arbitration tribunals ruled against china's claims to the strategic spratly islands in the south china sea in two thousand and fifteen the us navy run blockade that would cut china's lifelines of oil and trade and role materials. the danger of confrontation grows by the day. the u.s. navy is on the doorstep of china regardless of disputed islands and is there with low draw off ships planes battle groups it's right on the doorstep of chinese ships what a few quid lindt was off california where we ask ourselves that question regularly and it's i

orbed e on the other hand you have our allies in the south china sea, that we have always depended upon, now playing both sides, because you see the visible of the increase in china and so it is something that is pretty scary. you mentioned general robinson. he somewhats in oklahoma at tinker and she said something that i thought was just pretty remarkable and i'll ask you to tell us what you feel about the same statement she made. this is when she was before this committee, just a short while ago, in february of '18. she said, i am 100% confident in my ability to defend the united states of america against a north korean ballistic missile. general, do you agree with her? >> has she convinced you? >> senator, she has. would say with high confidence that i believe that the ground based defense system in place today has the able to defend against a north korea ballistic missile strike. i say that based on my current position and over ten years of experience within ballistic missile defense as well as my close relationship with nda in my current role as well as the current -- i have high s

as you point out, china now has built these fake islands in the south china sea and militarize it.threatening japan, certain islands, they are threatening the philippines, the vietnamese government to me even asked us for help so we docked one of our warships in our ports and nobody would've ever thought that would happen. china is stealing our technology left and right and forcing companies that do business in china to turn over our technology. the president seems to want to confront this and address this. but again, the media, congress , not so much. >> out of those entities that you mention, maybe the president is the only one who is aware that china is not even shy about their intention. china named their plan the one road, one bill plan how they think they are going control not just all of the parts and pieces of things that the rest of the world needs to function, including material for our own infrastructure, but also we are going to control the way that the things they manufacture are transported, and that's water ways in the landmass that ultimately covers two thirds of th

sailing the south china sea — we go on board a us aircraft carrier, as washington worries about beijing's naval power. hello and welcome to the programme. we start with breaking news from syria. several missiles struck a military airport and the centre of the city. these developing story and details are still coming end. what do we no so far? the only thing for certain at the moment as that syrian state media as reporting an attack on one of these airports. this as the t4 on one of these airports. this as the ta military base east of homs. there are reports that they are being cared by several missiles. syrian state media says an american attack as suspected. behrouz a lot of video on social media. there are as one report that syrian missiles pad exempted some of those entering missiles. this may be that because the syrians are expecting an eminent attack, they are trigger—happy, and asa attack, they are trigger—happy, and as a false report. on the other there are as a lot of chatter out there, a lot of of the mission so —— on social media —— a lot of commission on —— a lot of commission

and someone called say better rattling in the south china seas.hey've weaponized items and the u.s. is concerned about it. >> you're right. the u.s. is concerned about it. no one wants to see that happen. so this is not just about the price of goods so that definitely matters. there's concern on a military level and we've seen president trump kind of jump ahead on things, announcing things ahead of his advisors, using twitter. i think there's a sense that at least this could escalate. >> rick: jim, at this point it doesn't look like the u.s. has any leverage in the south china sea. >> we're continuing to put ships through there, to demonstrate freedom of navigation. it's a tough problem. we're in their backyard, not the other way around. i'm going to offer an alternative view on the likelihood of real conflict here. i'm more skeptical of that. i follow the lead of tray lore fr rabel. china is building their power, no doubt about it. they don't want to fight a war with the u.s. that's the last thing they want to do. so i think their military strate

singapore to discuss issues affecting the region fears of a global trade war disputes in the south china sea and. crisis are expected to top the agenda armenia is acting prime minister is refusing to hold talks with a leading opposition figure as anti-government protests continue kind of petty and called off the talks with a call to shinny and accusing him of trying to dictate the agenda on media as parliament meets next week to elect a prime minister. resigned on monday following weeks of demonstrations there's the headlines more news on al-jazeera after what i want east next. there's a seven million in this room each with a story that didn't lie to the. witness the she meant to these children. and she's here.

the country's navy considered its biggest ever fleet the view in the contested waters of the south china sea adrian brown reports. in the sea where so many countries now have territorial claims an unprecedented display of chinese military power image is likely to unsettle some of china's neighbors it was the top story on chinese state television running for more than twenty two minutes the fleet review involved forty eight warships a nuclear powered submarine and china's sole operating aircraft carrier the looming display also included seventy six aircraft including bombers as well as ten thousand servicemen and women. dressed for battle issuing orders their commander in chief president xi jinping armed with words for a military he's determined to strengthen. building a strong navy has never become so urgent as today will carry out the thought of beauty in a strong military your new era. just forty eight hours earlier before an audience that included world leaders president xi had sought to present china as the guarantor of free trade now in the south china sea that contains some of the worl

sealing the south china we go on board a us aircraft carrier as washington worries about beijing's rowing naval power. —— sealing the south china sea

xi jinping has attended what the government says are the biggest naval drills in the disputed south china sea china's latest show of force comes at a time of heightened tensions with the u.s. over fears of a trade war and washington's increased involvement with taiwan which china claims as its own territory those are the headlines we'll have more news in half an hour from our london news center but next on al-jazeera is a.j. selects to stay with us. i got them all right there are more than what i do but. if you think let me think that i think you did. but i do have one the better part of. her for will. probably have more. must be on a very low news like i come from. your beach the world that you must have a bone you will voice in my thoughts bidens the year we were in the weeds. or small multiples from the ball over we look. at them would be neat trick ancient chants of that's a little used to paint sr. was that she put him in. well. but . most of all. to the. well it's if. we have. it all to keep it all just good. people. along. working toward me or concede three or your. own without holding

syria and, crimea in china is increasingly aggressive in the south china sea. we expect sina corporation of the weapons by others. whether it is terrorist groups are proxies around the world. we also face the character dirt of war is changing. cyberspace and information warfare and space. the army vision that we developed for winning this environment outlines a few things you must be able to do differently and better. we have to be ready to a ploy -- to employ rapidly. we have to open -- overcome our adversary is the fences to maintain that access and employ success. we have to maneuver bowlby and deliver overwhelming effects through every domain. we must do all this faster than the enemy. to achieve the vision i will out wine, outline, we have to presume three major ways of efforts. we have to do this with a high and fights. meal --nd is we need a a new talent management system focused on talent management and we need programsodernization and also haveasis delegated the importance of army command to do -- two great leaders. they have driven us very hard stand

to stop doing their freedom of navigation operations in the south china sea. they would love that and i think they are working slowly toward that to increase their ability in the next half century. host: we saw this pivot to asia concept. does that still exist in any way, shape, or form in this administration? guest: it exists in a kind of rhetorical sense. there is this time that the trump administration has invoked numerous times of the in the pacific asindo opposed to the asia-pacific. that seems to be some kind of iteration of the idea of a kind of ideological, moral construct for u.s. involvement in that region. the indo pacific as opposed to the asia-pacific is actually an interesting term because it expands the region we are talking about in terms of u.s. involvement and it brings india and supply. india is a democracy and arrival of china. it's a huge country that is also working to modernize its military although at a slower pace. you do see a little bit of that, but there's not any kind of well thought out strategic plan at the moment. host: rick in

brussels for discussion nato nation conflicts from venezuela to ukraine to central africa to the south china sea and if anyone was in any doubt that donald trump has abandoned his america first strategy here is trump's pick for secretary of state on trump's right to bomb syria i believe the president has the domestic authority to do that i don't think i don't think that has been disputed by republicans or democrats throughout an extended period of time actually it's disputed mostly by our founding fathers who believe they gave that authority to congress the voice there of senator rand paul who been a tiddley came around to confirming cia director mike pompei is jobs which to become the u.s.a.'s top diplomat well joining me now is award winning foreign correspondent and author of syria burning charles glass charles thanks so much for coming back on good to see theresa may joining macro and trump and enforcing redlines chemical on. the weapons in syria well as i recall the british contribution was eight rockets out of over two hundred of the wasn't it wasn't militarily significant but it shows tha

xi jinping has attended what the government says are the biggest naval drills in the disputed south china sea walls and ten thousand personal seventy six hundred some forty eight warships took part in this latest falls comes at a time of heightened tensions with the u.s. over fears of a trade war and washington's increased involvement with taiwan which china claims as its own territory those were the headlines and back with more news in thirty minutes next al-jazeera it's after the kailash. the caliph are. a form of rule in a slam. that lasted for almost thirteen centuries. from the death of the prophet muhammad. to the overthrow of the last ottoman caliph in one thousand nine hundred twenty four. the arabic ten for twenty eighth twenty five which actually in essence simply means a successor or and deputy. the ruler of the islamic world would call himself confederacy when no successor goatse mostly. through the centuries. the title of caliph is a term that has been used. by the time of use. in june two thousand and fourteen. in militant group calling itself the islam ecstacy and iraq in the l

jinping has attended what the government says is the biggest naval drills in the street just south china sea or than ten thousand personnel seventy six fighter jets and forty eight warships took part in the exercises japan has welcomed decision by the u.s. to explore the possibility of rejoining the transpacific trade partnership donald trump has asked of viruses to see if a better deal could be negotiated it would be a major policy reversal for the u.s. president who withdrew from the pack soon after taking office citing concerns about jobs. mammal has pledged to begin repatriation over him to refugees in bangladesh as soon as possible the social welfare minister made the comments as he met bangladesh's foreign minister in dhaka after visiting refugee camps at cults as bizarre and thousands of palestinians up in power and for the first friday of protests in the gaza israel border fence health ministry says more than one thousand six hundred demonstrators have been shot by israeli forces thirty of them killed journalist covering demonstrations say they fear being deliberately targeted . thos

as a us aircraft carrier sails into the south china sea, we report on how washington is increasinglyo in the programme: a landslide victory in hungary's general election. victor orban says his re—election was an opportunity to defend the country's borders. and a marathon like no other, runners from around the world compete on the streets of pyongyang.

what's your thinking about -- what are they up to in the south china seas? >> senator, we know what their activity is in the south china seas. i would like to elevate it and tell you what we're observing they're doing across the whole spectrum. >> i understand that. >> just the other day, we were about to let a contract to one of our primes and found out that in that division we were going to contract to, waway was a joint venture partner and we turned around and said, whoa, stop the horses. we would like to know what this means. talk to the prime. the prime said no problem, we're not going to use any of the aspects of waway nor its software. and all of a sudden we said, great, can we see the governance documents of the joint venture and things got very frosty. we have now put prophylactic language in this agreement to prevent any creeping further. i bring this up as an example so it's not just the south china sea. >> it's across the full spectrum that china is coming at us. >> and i agree. that's why i said. but this is fresh in our minds right now, and some