US Revives WWII Airfields to Counter China; New US Investment Ban Targets Chinese AI |China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. Preparations for potential conflicts intensify. The U.S. is revamping airfields from the World War II era to counter China. Plus, from Japan to Australia. Details on what countries are doing to bolster their own defenses. This is what World War III looks like. What you're feeling today. Top U.S. adversaries Russia, China and Iran are meeting for this year's BRICS Summit. Just two weeks before America elects its next president. And new rules are out to ban certain U.S. investment from fueling Chinese A.I. development. The move driven by an executive order by President Biden. Revamping World War II airfields. Buying missiles. Mapping out wartime food plants. From the U.S. to Australia to Taiwan. Global players are preparing for a potential conflict with China. The U.S. is reviving airfields. Both at home and abroad. That's so U.S. aircraft can hop between different locations across the Indo-Pacific. Instead of being tied to famous bases like Guam. Obvious targets for Beijing's missiles. That's according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Some of those airfields play major roles during World War II. Like the one called Camp Davis in North Carolina. That just reopened. The military is also rebuilding Tinian. An island in the northern Mariana Islands. This is where U.S. bombers took off before dropping atomic bombs on Japan. Most of Tinian has been covered in jungles since it wasn't needed for decades. Now the military is bringing it back to life. In the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. has recertified an airfield in Peleliu. A site that was also useful in World War II. Over in the Philippines, the U.S. is upgrading an airbase to make it easier to accommodate American aircraft. Washington is also revamping two bases in northern Australia. Making them more suitable for B-52 bombers. It's building up airfields close to Taiwan too. Where concerns of a Chinese invasion are looming. What's more, Taiwan mapped out its wartime food plans Tuesday. The rare directive involves stocking up on rice supplies. And strategizing distributions so that the island wouldn't go hungry. If China were to encircle it and block imports during a conflict. Just last week, Beijing encircled Taiwan during a military drill. The Chinese Communist Party sees Taiwan as part of China. Despite never having ruled it. Washington is watching Beijing's next move toward the island closely. The U.S. Navy is getting ready to fight a possible war with China in three years. That's Beijing's self-stated timeline to potentially invade the island. To the north and south, China's neighbors are also making their own preparations to bolster defense. The Philippines are hoping to buy mid-range missiles. Japan released plans for its largest defense budget in history. And Australia is set to spend over $4 billion to acquire long-range missiles from the U.S. To talk more about the U.S. plan to restore overgrown runways and airfields on remote islands. We sat down with Casey Fleming. He's a national security expert and the CEO of Black Ops Partners. Casey also worked in the Office of Presidential Advance during both Bush presidencies. Casey Fleming, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you back on the show. Thank you for having me. The U.S. has been ramping up runways and airfields from World War II. This is to counter China's growing nuclear missile arsenal. Now, given those recent developments, how condensed of a timeline are we looking at here for a potential, say, Chinese invasion of Taiwan or other conflicts in the region between the Koreas or even the Philippines? 2025, as soon as 2025. Remember, we're only a couple of months out through the end of 2024 anyway. So very, very near term. The world is in chaos. The world is boiling. And you have this axis of totalitarian regimes against the free world. So it's very serious. And in our opinion, it's the weakest that we've been in the United States probably since the turn of the century in the 1900s. And certainly the same as World War II. And this is identical to the run-up of World War II. This time, though, at the speed of technology and the stealth of unrestricted warfare. And Casey, when it comes to understanding the China threat, many say to start at home where we see things like espionage, intellectual property theft, the Confucius Institute's elite capture, as you were mentioning earlier, fentanyl, but also the weaponization of immigration. Give us a sense of how widespread this is here at home. It is extremely widespread. We've been outsourcing for the past 40 years. And this is really the culmination of all that outsourcing. That outsourcing, absolutely, this globalism outsourcing, needs to be done strategically to never weaken our hand. And we've gone way over that fulcrum, that balance that is so critical. So any type of technology that goes into China and comes out of China must be understood that it is weaponized against America and the free world. And with this level and scale of infiltration that we're talking about here, how does the U.S. begin to counter this? Is it through awareness, or what are the steps needed? Well, certainly awareness. And this time, the family, the family's at the front line, and the military's way behind the lines on this thing. In fact, the Chinese Communist Party believes that they can win this war by defeating Americans in their homes, in their schools. They're seriously involved in the Ukraine conflict, and that's their strategy is to weaken the United States across three or four fronts, including terrorist organizations. Honestly, if I can be so plain or direct, this is what World War III looks like, what you're feeling today. Every American will tell you something is afoot, something doesn't feel right. Everything is in chaos, nothing makes sense anymore. Will somebody connect the dots? And that's what you and I have just done. Casey Fleming, thank you so much for your time. Thank you for having me. Only two weeks before the U.S. presidential election, leaders of the world's largest developing countries, including China, Russia, and India, among others, are meeting this week for the BRICS summit. NTD's Flora Hua brings us more. Russian President Vladimir Putin is the host of this year's BRICS summit. That's much different than last year, when he joined via video call to avoid a Western arrest warrant. The Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping also flew to Russia. He and Putin referred to each other as dear friends. With China and Russia being the dominant players, many see BRICS as a counterweight organization of the U.S.-led Group of Seven. When asked whether the U.S. is concerned that BRICS could undermine the U.S. economy on Monday. We're not looking at BRICS as an evolving into some kind of geopolitical rival. That's not how we look at it. But that might not be what Beijing and Moscow have in mind. Russia's economy has suffered after the West froze its foreign currency reserves worth $350 billion. Putin just sat down for talks with the chair of the New Development Bank, a finance institute that serves BRICS. It helps to minimize geopolitical risks to maximal extent to freeing the development of economy from politics, if it is at all possible in today's world. China is also on board with the idea. Beijing has been promoting RMB for regional transaction in hopes of one day replacing the U.S. dollars as the world's reserve currency. It's seen as part of Beijing's efforts to avoid becoming the target of Western sanctions and preparing for a potential invasion of Taiwan. Earlier in June, G7 leaders made it clear that they would continue to dry out Russia's capital and counter China's aggression in the South China Sea. BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. In recent years, U.S. allies the United Arab Emirates, Iran and others have joined the forum. The organization also invited Saudi Arabia to join. The country is the world's second largest oil supplier. Russia said three dozen more countries are on the waiting list. The ongoing conflicts between Israel and Iran, Ukraine and Russia, along with China's interest in taking Taiwan, have pushed authoritarian countries closer together. Despite the U.S. holding firm as the world's top oil producer, BRICS crude oil production tops 40% of global output. One index shows the global GDP share held by BRICS countries has already surpassed that of G7 countries by nearly 5%. But G7 countries still lead the technology and innovation contest with BRICS. Flora Huat, NTD News. As the U.S. and China engage in heated competition for global influence, a week ago, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including senior ones, over a murder allegation. The expulsion angered India. It dismissed the allegation and removed six senior Canadian diplomats from its country in retaliation. The move has brought the country's bilateral relationship to a record low. The Canadian government also accuses India of gathering information and targeting Indian dissident groups within Canada. Coming soon, new rules are stated to ban some U.S. investment into Chinese AI development. The federal government says the directives are under final review. Here's more. The rules come from an executive order signed by President Biden in August 2023. It aims to keep American investors from aiding the Chinese Communist Party's military. Related investments that are not specifically prohibited will still require government notification. Exceptions to the ban include publicly traded securities, certain limited partnership investments, and certain syndicated debt financings. Coming up, India's army chief says the country wants to reset relations with China, hoping to dial back to the status quo from 2020, this after signing a new agreement following a deadly clash four years ago. Two families embark on a perilous journey in search of their loved ones, who mysteriously went missing in China. They uncover a shocking state crime over their 20-year-old journey. More on the screening of a new documentary. I mean, it's just such a tragedy. And the fact that the world doesn't know about this, the fact that you're drawing attention to it is very important. And 11 monkeys mysteriously die at a Hong Kong zoo. Authorities believe a dangerous bacterial infection is to blame. More on that after the break. Here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. India's army chief general said Tuesday that his country wants to restore the status quo it had with China back in April 2020. This comes after New Delhi signed a troop patrolling pact with Beijing Monday to ease border tensions. Relations between the two nations have been tense since clashes occurred four years ago, which ended in the deaths of 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers. Let's take a listen. We were looking at that we want to go back to the status quo of April 2020. Point number one. Thereafter, we will be looking at disengagement, de-escalation, normal management of line of actual control. And this normal management of line of actual control will not just stop there. There are phases in that also. The two sides have stopped patrolling several points along the border in the western Himalayas to prevent new confrontations. They have moved tens of thousands of new troops and military equipment closer to the freezing highlands. Media reports said both sides would withdraw their troops slightly from their current positions to avoid face-offs. They will be allowed to patrol these areas according to a schedule that's being worked out. On Monday, India's foreign secretary said the two nations have come up with a patrolling arrangement along their disputed border. The pact comes in quite handy as the top leaders of India and China are meeting in Russia for the BRICS summit. India's top diplomats said the recent pact would ease tensions between the two troops. China and India share two major territorial disputes, including one over Arunachal Pradesh, which sits next to today's Tibet. The conflict dates back to the 1960s. The Chinese Communist Party fought a bloody war there with India after it took over Tibet. The Chinese regime refers to the area as South Tibet, a name India rejects. Washington recognizes the region as Indian territory. Beijing dismissed Washington's endorsement and told the White House to stay out of its disputes. Washington sees India as a vital partner in Asia. Back in April 2020, Indian and Chinese troops faced off along their disputed border, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers. That's after Beijing sent a large group of troops to the region, escalating tensions. Early in March, India completed a tunnel construction project in the disputed region for defense needs. The former chief of the Indian army described China as the number one threat to India back in February. China and India are both nuclear armed. As China ramps up its military aggression towards Taiwan, what can the U.S. do to deter Beijing and calm the Indo-Pacific waters? Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor for the George W. Bush administration, and now the Ted and Diana Taub Director of the Hoover Institution, shares her take. China has many, many other options vis-a-vis Taiwan because they don't have to occupy Taiwan. They just have to change the politics in Taiwan until it looks like Hong Kong. Rice warns that the Chinese regime might not be able to successfully take Taiwan by force. What the regime could do is ramp up its infiltration of the island and tear down the democratic system step by step. What the Chinese would do, I think, for Taiwan is to try to put so much pressure that you have a very pro-Chinese government in Taiwan and then just slowly but surely it erodes Chinese independence, or Taiwan's independence. The Chinese Communist Party has been conducting war games around the island recently. Communist China has never ruled the island, but it sees the island of core interest and part of Chinese territory. Taiwan rejects its claims. What I think we have to do is to figure out how we deter the all-out military attack, but how we also respond when you have something like the exercises that China has just been carrying out around Taiwan. It becomes kind of salami tactics, and that's what I worry about more with Taiwan. Rice suggests the U.S. government should think outside of the box when addressing China's strategy to take Taiwan. She warns that the regime could use isolation tactics against Taiwan, such as seizing smaller islands around it first, cutting undersea cables, or launching cyber attacks. Flora Hua, NTD News. A documentary is calling attention to one of the most horrific crimes of the 21st century, forced organ harvesting. NTD's Daniel Monahan reports on the showing of state organs produced by Peabody Award winner Raymond Zhang. The film screened Monday in Delaware. And a warning, this report includes content that some viewers may find disturbing. The film details the Chinese regime's billion-dollar transplant industry fueled by forced organ harvesting of living Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience. It tells the harrowing tale of two families who embark on a perilous journey in search of their loved ones who mysteriously go missing in China. Over their 20-year long journey, they uncover a shocking state crime in China. U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hansen said the Chinese Communist Party needs to stop the abhorrent crime of organ harvesting. I mean, it's just such a tragedy, and the fact that the world doesn't know about this, the fact that you're drawing attention to it, is very important. Hansen called for more awareness of the issue. And then we need to find ways to stop the Chinese government from continuing to kill and organ harvest Falun Gong practitioners or anyone they feel like they need to persecute. Delaware State Representative Michael Ramon said he's feeling more and more distraught about why the world can't fix this horrific problem. Every day, more and more people are falling victim, and it just, it hurts, it hurts to hear inside, especially after seeing someone who's actually been a victim but fortunately survived. The gubernatorial candidate says his efforts to get more attention focused on the issue statewide have been met with resistance. When asking people why is it being met with resistance, some are worried of the political ramifications. This isn't about politics, it's about people's lives. State Representative Paul Baumbach co-sponsored House Concurrent Resolution 143 for condemning forced organ harvesting in China. He said he was strongly affected by seeing the pressure put on those participating in the terrible crime. Where they must feel the pressure to do things that they know are wrong, but somehow they're just in a system that just encourages them to not ask questions and proceed. State Senator David Lawson says the individual stories moved him the most. It's heart-wrenching when your family goes missing and there's no end, you can't get closure. Lawson says the film was an eye-opener. The video is very, very dark, the movie, and it's something that we need to be awakened to before we have more genocide, more deaths, more murders in China. State Representative Candidate Alex Homich says it's important for people to come together to prevent atrocities like organ harvesting. You know, now more than ever, I think it's really time for people to open their eyes a little bit more to what's going around. You know, even though we're separated by imaginary lines, you know, we're all human beings. Mental health counselor Delphine Baffone says people like to talk about the Holocaust as if those kinds of horrors are behind us. They're not. We're living in a time where that is continuing to happen in China, and it's just unacceptable. I was really struck by the bravery of the people who were here to share their stories as well. State Organs has a score by Emmy Award-winning composer Daryl Bennett. A Q&A after the screening was moderated by Rick Jensen, Delaware's award-winning talk show host for WDEL Radio, Daniel Monaghan, NTD News. Zookeepers in Hong Kong are mourning following the abrupt deaths of 11 monkeys. Authorities said most of them were killed by a bacterial infection. At least 11 monkeys have died at this Hong Kong zoo over the past week. Authorities say they've now worked out why, for at least nine of them, a soil infection. Two more died at the weekend, and their cause of death has yet to be determined. Kevin Young, Hong Kong's Culture and Tourism Minister, confirmed an infection called mellidosis caused the death. The monkeys were housed in five separate cages. They included the deebraza species, cotton-top tamarins, white-faced sakhis and common squirrel monkey. Autopsies found a large amount of mellidosis-inducing bacteria in the monkeys' organs. Part of the zoo has remained shut since last Monday, when authorities reported the first batch of monkey death. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on the show, or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at ChinaInFocusNTD.com. We'd love to hear from you. For around-the-clock original news coverage, visit us at NTD.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.