China is provoking a conflict in the Solomon Islands.

0:00 Speaker 1 Sunday morning. What is going on in the Far East? What is this today? Is a Gordon Chang a member of the Gatestone Institute and is Twitter to stay in touch. Twenty four to seven is act Gordon g Chang Gordon.

0:21 We haven’t talked about the Far East lately, and I understand it might be some activity.

0:28 Speaker 2 There are a couple of things going on, John. First of all, the biggest flashpoint right now is in the South China Sea, in Philippine waters. There, China is trying to seize some showals, especially Scarborough Show, Second Timas Show, Sabina Show. And there are reports unconfirmed that the United States Navy is going to be sending assets to help

0:51 the Filipinos. Right now, China has been engaging in some very provocative activities that actually constitute acts of war. This is I think a much more worrying situation than, for instance, China’s activities against Taiwan. The other big China news has really been China’s sending a lander to the far side of the Moon, scooping up about a couple pounds of

1:17 rock and then blasting off from the Moon’s surface. It’s on its way back to Earth. This is important because before the Chinese left, they raised a flag on the far side of the Moon, and this was not some sort of, you know, we came in peace for all mankind type of flag. I think what China is trying

1:36 to do is lay the basis for a claim to the Moon. In twenty seventeen, the head of China’s lunar program talked actually about the Moon as a part of the People’s Republic of China. So this is something extremely concerning.

1:50 Speaker 1 Well, I spoke to doctor Sky this morning and otherwise known as Steve Kates, and he says, it looks like Chinese seen the United States of America in space travel.

2:04 Speaker 2 Well, this Chinese certainly would like to. They plan to put a human on the surface of the Moon around twenty thirty. Our Artemis program has plans to do that before then, but we’ve been hit by delays and we’re not as serious in the effort of going to the Moon as the Chinese are. And it’s important because China

2:25 will stake out important sections of the Moon where there’s helium three and that’s an important mineral, and they’re going to do some other things. So this is we know that they want to militarize the Moon. And so therefore, if we allow them to get their first, to plant their flags, to actually rope off large parts of the Moon,

2:49 or maybe the entire moon itself, if we allow them to do that, we’re putting ourselves at a severe disadvantage because then they’ll be able to control most of space between here and Earth, and that means that they will have significant advantages in both war and peacetime.

3:07 Speaker 1 Wow. I mean, you know, it’s so hard to believe that we went to the Moon in peace in nineteen was this? Nineteen sixty nine? Was it? And now and now even China says we’re not going to get to to twenty thirty. I mean, what do we do wrong or just or is everybody trying to be more careful?

3:31 Speaker 2 Well, we just forgot about the moon. We forgot about the importance of it, and we did not recognize the maliciousness and the ambition of our enemies. Still today we do not call China and Russia enemies. The most that Biden will say of China is that it’s a competitor.

3:48 So we don’t understand the Chinese ambitions, But clearly they staked it out and made it very clear that they intend to dominate what’s called CISP lunar space, the space between them in the Earth, and that is critically important for so many reasons understood.

4:05 Speaker 1 Uh, now, what what else is going on in in that far east area of U Is China making progress on on on anything going on with the Taiwan or Solomon.

4:20 Speaker 2 Islands or well, clearly China has taken over the Solomon Islands the political system there. It switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. China has insinuated itself into the political system by buying politicians, and this is a critical situation.

4:40 I mean, remember Solomon’s is where the battle site for Guadalcanal in World War two. So this is a sacred ground for us. But the big news, probably in the last couple of days, was President Biden in his time interviews saying that the Chinese economy is on the brink.

4:59 And I think think that the President was right. I’m glad that he was saying it in public. But the question is will he be willing to use American’s leverage to push China in better directions? And he has not shown that same resolute resoluteness that Ronald Reagan did when he confronted a weak Soviet Union.

5:22 Speaker 1 Understood, what else would you like to tell the American people on Sunday morning?

5:30 Speaker 2 This is a very dangerous time because although I think Jmping has made a decision to go to work, he clearly has made a decision to risk war. His activities in the South China Sea, for instance, are in defiance of many written and oral warnings from the Biden State Department and from the President himself that the United States

5:51 is willing to use force to protect our treaty ally the Philippines. So clearly the Chinese do not respect the United States, which means that they could very well engage in activities that would cause a spiral that is uncontrollable.

6:07 So we’ve got to be extremely concerned what Beijing will do at any moment. We got a military that says, well, if there’s going to be a war, it’ll be in twenty twenty seven or later. I don’t think we can make that assumption. We have to worry about it now.

6:21 Speaker 1 Understood well, Gordon Chang at Twitter handle at Gordon g Chang, thank you very much for reporting in to the American people, and thank you for your valuable knowledge.

6:34 Speaker 2 Well, thank you so much, John, I really appreciate it.