they weren t all successful, but some of them did get through. they did have an impact. the chinese released this proposal for peace. the russians responded saying they, quote, share beijing s views. is this anything that s meaningful at all? it s difficult to know exactly how far this will go. it s also difficult to see china as an effective mediator here between russia and ukraine, particularly when they have not had any communication with ukraine whatsoever about these so-called proposals. we ve said, president biden has said nothing about ukraine without ukraine, if a peace proposal, if a negotiation, and believe me, we would welcome a legitimate credible peace proposal. for one to be credible and sustainable, it s got to start from the foundation of ukraine being the victim here and russia being the aggressor and has to also start with a foundational belief in ukraine s sovereignty and their ability to have their country back. it s got to start with there,
companies as opposed to directly by the chinese government, would that make any difference to the u.s.? well, i think there s very sometimes very little distinction between chinese companies and the state. again, i don t want to get ahead of where things are. the chai inese military is obviously very advanced, good capabilities and certainly should that occur, it would make an impact on the war in ukraine, and we don t believe it s in china s interest to want to be on that side of it. you said earlier today that iran is seeking to purchase billions of dollars worth of military equipment from russia, fighter jets, helicopters, radar and in exchange iran is sending russia artillery and tank rounds. so what is that level of cooperation between russia, and iran what does it mean not only for ukraine but the middle east? that s exactly right. you nailed it. it isn t just about the impact those capabilities, iran cran capabilities will have on russia s war in ukraine. it is about wha
china has a significant advantage when it comes to ship building, and that gap is expected to grow even though there are plans to modernize the u.s. navy. now, one thing, however, that china is doing with this kind of aggressive actions in places like the south china sea is it s pushing smaller countries like the fill peep philippines, whic of years ago was ready to end military relations with the u.s. to now try to expand it, the philippines inviting u.s. forces to operate out of more philippines bases. japan recently announcing it will dramatically expand its defense expenditures, and the u.s. is partnering up with countries like australia and the uk to build nuclear submarines. all of this is aimed at basically force projection and trying to convince beijing to think twice before acting too provocatively in some of these contested areas as we ve seen russia do in ukraine. yeah, ivan watson, appreciate
counteroffensives and if negotiation is the end game, then they must be able to get quickly to a place on the battlefield that they can actually negotiate from a position of strength. what is the level of concern among ukrainian officials tonight about russia s increasing alignment with china, in particular the idea that china might supply drones, ammunition for use in the war? well, president zelenskyy addressed that in his presser and i asked the deputy foreign minister myself. and they are not happy. they re monot speaking out agait china. they re trying to maintain this notion is neutral. indeed if china does get involved in the way you just mentioned, it would according to the u.s. defense secretary prolong the war. that s for absolute sure, and it just raises the stakes, of course. yeah, i appreciate it. thank you. more now on how the biden administration sees the possibility of china supplying lethal aid to russia. shortly before air time i spoke