♪.
LARRY: ALL RIGHT, FOLKS, HERE IS
AN INCREDIBLE STORY TRULY.
IN THE LAST FOUR-DAYS 145
CHINESE WARPLANES HAVE ENTERED
TAIWAN’S AIR DEFENSE
IDENTIFICATION ZONES.
52 PLANES ENTERED THE ZONE TODAY
ALONE, JUST TODAY.
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
LET’S ASK JOHN RATCLIFFE, FORMER
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL
INTELLIGENCE, NATIONAL SECURITY
CHAIR AMERICA FIRST POLICY
INSTITUTE.
JOHN, WELCOME BACK, MY FRIEND.
>> HEY, LARRY.
LARRY: THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE
STORY AND IN YOUR JUDGMENT, WHAT
DOES IT MEAN?
WHAT’S THE KEY POINT HERE?
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU DIDN’T
HAVE TO BE NOSTRADAMUS TO
PREDICT THIS IS WHERE CHINA WAS
GOING TO GO.
IF YOU REMEMBER, LARRY, LAST
TIME I WAS ON YOUR SHOW, ON THE
HEELS WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN
AFGHANISTAN BOTH ROBERT O’BRIEN
AND I CAME ON YOUR SHOW, THERE
WOULD BE A RIPPLE EFFECT,
STARTING IN THE INDOPACIFIC WITH
CHINA GETTING AGGRESSIVE WITH
TAIWAN.
WE LAID OUT SIX STEPS THAT WE
THOUGHT THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
SHOULD TAKE TO SEND A MESSAGE
FOR CHINA NOT TO GET MORE
PROVOCATIVE WITH TAIWAN AND OF
COURSE THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
HAS NOT DONE ANY OF THOSE
THINGS.
THEY’RE TESTING THE RESOLVE
ABOUT THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION.
BIDEN LOST TO THE TALIBAN.
THEY WANT TO SEND A MESSAGE TO
THE TAIWANESE PEOPLE, WHAT WILL
THIS ADMINISTRATION DO TO STAND
UP TO YOU?
AS YOU POINTED OUT, LARRY, THESE
ARE UNPRECEDENTED NUMBERS, THESE
SORTIES.
IT IS NOT JUST FIGHTER JETS.
WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT TO KNOW,
MORE BOMBERS HAVE FLOWN INTO THE
AIR IDENTIFICATION DEFENSE SOWN
MORE THAN WE EVER SEEN BEFORE,
MORE FREQUENCY THAN WE EVER SEEN
BEFORE.
THAT WOULD BE PRELUDE TO A
CONFLICT THAT WOULD LEAD TO AN
AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT ON TAIWAN.
THAT IS WHAT CHINA IS DOING.
THEY’RE SENDING A MESSAGE.
THEY’RE TESTING THIS
ADMINISTRATION.
THEY’RE LETTING THE PEOPLE OF
TAIWAN KNOW, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER
BY FORCE OR OTHERWISE THEY HAVE
EVERY INTENTION TO UNIFY TAIWAN
INTO MAINLAND CHINA.
YOU KNOW, TO THAT POINT, LARRY,
YOU KNOW, THERE IS THIS
UNFORTUNATE COMBINATION THAT
CHINA NOW HAS THEY NEVER HAD
BEFORE.
THEY ARE IN A BETTER POSITION IF
THEY WERE TO CHOOSE TO INVADE
TAIWAN THAN THEY HAVE EVER BEEN.
THAT DANGEROUS COMBINATION IS THIS, FOR THE FIRST TIME THEY
THIS, FOR THE FIRST TIME THEY
HAVE A NAVAL FLEET CAPABLE OF
AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT FOR FIRST
TIME.
THEY HAVE THE LARGEST NAVY IN
THE WORLD, CHINA DOES.
YOU COUPLE THAT NOW WITH AN
AMERICAN PRESIDENT WHO HASN’T
SHOWN THE RESOLVE TO BACK OUR
ALLIES IN THE MOST RECENT
FAILURE IN THAT REGARD IS OF
COURSE AFGHANISTAN.
YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY HAVE THAT
COMBINATION OF YOU KNOW, THE
MILITARY MIGHT ALONGWITH, YOU
KNOW A PRESIDENT THEY VIEW
EITHER AS YOU KNOW, INCOMPETENT
AT BEST OR COWARDLY AT WORST,
THAT IS A DANGEROUS COMBINATION.
LARRY: JOHN, LET ME ASK A COUPLE
QUICK THINGS.
AIR DEFENSE IDENTIFICATION ZONE,
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
>> SO THAT IS A LARGER AREA,
THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION, LARRY,
BECAUSE, IT IS THE AREA OVER
WHICH YOU KNOW THE TAIWANESE
GOVERNMENT EXPECTS AIRCRAFT TO
IDENTIFY THEMSELVES, SAY WHAT
THE PURPOSE IS THAT THEY ARE
APPROACHING THE ISLAND OF
TAIWAN.
THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM TAIWAN’S
SOVEREIGN AIRSPACE WHICH IS ONLY
A MUCH SMALLER AREA WITHIN THAT
WHICH IS ONLY 12 NAUTICAL MILES.
THE REASON IT IS IMPORTANT,
LARRY, IS THIS FIRST TEST THE
BIDEN’S ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE,
SEND CHINA SOME STRONGLY WORDED
LETTER, SAYING, BOY THIS IS
PROVOCATIVE AND YOU BETTER STOP.
THIS I THINK UNFORTUNATELY
WHETHER IT IS DAYS WEEKS,
MONTHS, I WOULD EXPECT CHINA’S
NEXT STEP TO BE, TO SEND THESE
SORTIES NOT JUST INTO THE AIR
DEFENSE IDENTIFICATION ZONE BUT
TO ACTUALLY CLIP TAIWAN’S
SOVEREIGN AIRSPACE TO SEE
WHETHER THE UNITED STATES IS
GOING TO RESPOND.
LARRY: JOHN, WHEN WAS THIS
LETTER SENT, THIS ADMINISTRATION
LETTER, WHEN WAS THAT SENT?
>> WELL THEY JUST RESPONDED AS
THEY OFTEN DO WITH YOU KNOW
STRONGLY-WORDED LANGUAGE OR
STERN LANGUAGE SAYING YOU BETTER
STOP THIS.
LARRY: TODAY?
WAS IT SENT TODAY?
>> WHICH IS THE OPPOSITE, THIS
WAS, IN THE PAST 48 HOURS IN
RESPONSE YOU KNOW, FROM THE
STATE DEPARTMENT BUT LARRY, YOU
KNOW, LETTERS AND WORDS ARE NOT
HOW FOR INSTANCE YOU AND
PRESIDENT TRUMP WOULD RESPOND TO
CHINA’S PROVOCATIONS.
IT WOULD BE TARIFFS.
IT WOULD BE SANCTIONS T WOULD BE
TELLING OUR ALLIES, FOR
INSTANCE, WITH REGARD TO 5G, IT
IS US OR THEM, CHOOSE ONE OF US.
YOU KNOW, STRONG ACTIONS ARE
WHAT IS NOT HAPPENING FROM THIS
ADMINISTRATION.
AND UNTIL, UNLESS AND UNTIL THAT
HAPPENS, CHINA’S GOING TO GET
MORE PROVOCATIVE, SO IS RUSSIA,
SO IS IRAN.
WE ALL SAW AND PREDICTED THE
RIPPLE EFFECT WHAT HAPPENED IN
AFGHANISTAN AND NOW YOU’RE
SEEING IT COME TO FRUITION
UNFORTUNATELY.
LARRY: LAST QUESTION, ONLY A FEW
QUESTIONS LEFT, MAYBE UNFAIR BUT
IS YOUR JUDGMENT IS CHINA
GETTING READY TO INVADE TAIWAN?
>> LIKE I SAID I THINK IT IS,
CHINA’S NEVER BEEN IN A BETTER
POSITION IF THEY WERE TO ENGAGE
IN THAT KIND OF AN ASSAULT.
THEY HAVE A COMBINATION OF
FACTORS THAT THEY HAVEN’T HAD
BEFORE.
FRANKLY, LARRY, A LOT OF, A LOT
OF OUR ADVERSARIES AROUND THE
WORLD THINK THEY HAVE A
THREE-YEAR CLOCK TO ACCOMPLISH
AS MUCH AS THEY CAN UNTIL STRONG
LEADERSHIP IN THE WHITE HOUSE
BECAUSE THEY’RE CLEARLY NOT
SEEING THAT RIGHT NOW.
LARRY: MORE TO BE REVEALED.
WE HOPE YOU COME BACK TO HELP US
ON THIS INCREDIBLE STORY.