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Harris Supports Biden's Supreme Court Reform Proposals; Landslides in India Kill 43, Rescue Operations Underway; Zelenskyy Praises U.S. For New $1.7 Billion Aid Package; Water Quality Threatens Olympic Triathlon; Blinken, Austin Hold High-level Talks in Philippines. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 30, 2024 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[02:00:33]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead.

Anger boils over into the streets of Venezuela as demonstrators and police clash amid protests over Sunday's disputed election.

Walking a tight rope in the Middle East as as well ways its response to Saturday's deadly rocket strike against the dangers of sparking a wider war with Hezbollah.

And U.S. President Joe Biden calls for major reforms to the nation's highest court.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Appreciate you joining us. Well, chaos and clashes erupting on the streets of Venezuela as Nicolas Maduro is formally declared the winner of a presidential race that's been marred by accusations of election fraud and disputed by the opposition. Protesters hit the streets in several cities voicing anger, blocking roads and even toppling a statue of the late leader Hugo Chavez.

Maduro responded Monday night saying the government knows how to "defeat those who are violent." Huge crowds have denounced the election results which would see Maduro head to a third term as president. And it's not just demonstrators casting doubt. The U.S. and regional leaders are also raising questions about the validity of the result and calling for election data to be released.

The permanent Council the Organization of American States is set to meet Wednesday at the urgent request of nine Latin American countries. Venezuela is responding by expelling diplomats from seven countries, as Maduro had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): How do you call this? Democracy? Constitution? Terrorism? We have told the militants of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela not to fall for provocations because their goal is by assaulted in the headquarters to clash and have well bloodshed. Now it's clear what I was saying that I have avoided a bloodshed in Venezuela.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Then as well as opposition is rejecting Maduro's is victory which was declared by the country's electoral council and says its own candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez is the actual winner. Opposition leaders claim they have gathered enough tally sheets to prove Gonzalez won Sunday's vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSTION LEADER (through translator): Today, we have great news to share with all Venezuelans. It's a miracle. It's a miracle. But today, I want to tell all Venezuelans both inside and outside the country, all believers in democracy around the world, that we now have the means to prove truth of what happened yesterday in Venezuela.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Journalist Stefano Pozzebon is following all the developments from Caracas.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN REPORTER: Venezuelans have been expressing their anger on Monday and the results that were proclaimed early in the hours of Monday night, given the victory in Sunday's presidential election to longtime strongman Nicolas Maduro.

On Monday morning, thousands of citizens in Caracas and other cities across the country banged on their pants to express their dissent. This is a traditional form of protest that in South American countries, called a Cacerolazo. Throughout the day, we've seen more and more reports of scattered protester in Caracas. So, with people blocking some roads, and setting tires and electoral posters on fire.

However, the opposition has for now stopped short of calling for widespread street protests against these results that have been casted on doubted by many countries around the world. On the other hand, the government of Nicolas Maduro has proceeded by claiming the legitimacy of that election. Maduro was formally proclaimed the winner on a Monday morning by the electoral authorities.

And shortly before the Attorney General had this to say to anybody who wished to think that they could process these results.

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[02:05:00]

TEREK SAAB, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VENEZUELA (through translator): Act of violence and cause to ignore the official results can be framed in the crimes of public instigation, obstruction of public roads. Resistance to authorities and incitement to hatred with a sentence of 10 to 20 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: That announcement was made on national television here in Venezuela. And it's just a measure of how tense the situation is right now in Caracas, as there are very many moving pieces that are in the chessboard between Venezuela and government, the opposition and many countries around the world from Brazil, to Chile, Peru, and the United States all urging electoral authorities to release all the data from that controversial and contested election.

The opposition, just as a reminder, claimed to have won the election with almost 70 percent of the votes, while the government-controlled electoral authority gave the victory to Nicolas Maduro with 51 percent of the vote. For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.

CHURCH: Julie Turkewitz is the New York Times and is bureau chief covering Venezuela and other countries in South America. She joins me now from Bogota in Colombia. A pleasure to have you with us.

JULIE TURKEWITZ, NEW YORK TIMES BUREAU CHIEF: Thanks much.

CHURCH: Nicolas Maduro has formally declared victory in the wake of Venezuela's election, but the opposition coalition rejects his win saying their records show their candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received 70 percent of the vote compared to Maduro is 30 percent. What's been the reaction inside and outside of the country to that?

TURKEWITZ: Sure. There was a lot of energy behind Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado was the opposition leader who is backing him. And so, when the results came in, you know, very late last night, early morning, Monday, there was a lot of frustration, a little bit of frustration, a lot of anger, a lot of people who wanted to see the government produce some kind of receipts, produce evidence that it had had, in fact, won in the way that it claims it has, which it has not -- which has not done.

And what we're seeing today is a lot of protests inside in Caracas in the capital as well as other parts of the country.

CHURCH: And what about outside of the country? What has been the reaction, what's being said?

TURKEWITZ: Sure. You have the U.S. and other countries Colombia, Brazil who have asked the Venezuelan Government to again produce these seeds to show that it in fact, has won an election again. I think it's pretty common to hear from the U.S. some concern about lack of democratic norms inside of Venezuela. But I think what is more notable is sort of voices, like Lula in Brazil, the President and Petro, the President of Colombia. Their governments also saying, hey, you should produce these results.

CHURCH: And how likely is it that we will see a mass exodus from Venezuela if Maduro remains in power? And how could that impact the migrant situation in Colombia, Peru, the U.S. and elsewhere, of course?

TURKEWITZ: Sure. We had the New York Times have done a lot of reporting about Venezuela migration towards the United States. What several polls show inside Venezuela ahead of the election of that there was high interest in leaving the country if Maduro decided to stay in power. And so, what -- I think a lot of people inside of Venezuela are doing right now is making calculations. Are they going to stay? Are they going to go?

Those polls showed as high as 30 percent of the country was interested in leaving if Maduro stays in power? And so, I think we're really just watching and waiting to see in -- if that happens. And you'll see people go to neighboring Colombia, some people go to Brazil. And you'll see some people go further to the United States.

CHURCH: And if that happens, what does the future hold for Venezuela's economy?

TURKEWITZ: Well, right now, one of the big questions is whether the U.S. will impose more sanctions following this sort of election announcement. And the other thing to think about is the fact that, you know, with so many people gone from the country, you've seen this enormous brain drain and so, you know, the doctors, the teachers, the nurses, the engineers, the architects, they have left which makes it really hard to rebuild a country.

CHURCH: And would you ever expect people in Venezuela to rise up against Maduro would be any appetite for that?

TURKEWITZ: There have been protests just, you know, one day after the election. We'll see if those protests become significant if they become large.

[02:10:03]

If the opposition leaders Edmundo Gonzales and Maria Corina Machado call people to the streets. I think that there's a lot of wariness to protest right now, people have protested in the past, and hundreds of people have been killed inside the country during these protests as sort of security forces crack down.

And so, there's a lot of fear. And I think the big question in the country right now is the outpouring of emotion and anger and frustration over this electoral announcement going to manifest itself in the streets of Venezuela or is it going to -- or is it going to manifest itself in a mass migration, in another mass migration?

CHURCH: And your sense is the Maduro will remain in power for the foreseeable future?

TURKEWITZ: I think it really depends on what happens in the next couple of days. I think that that is the most likely outcome. And, you know, he's been in power for many years, at 10 years is party has been in power for 25 years. He has very, very, very little incentive to leave power. And I think this election result shows that. And so barring some change in the storyline, barring huge protests, or something else, I think we should expect that he is going to stay in power. But you never know.

CHURCH: Indeed. Julie Turkewitz, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

TURKEWITZ: Thank you.

CHURCH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing a severe response to the deadly attack in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights over the weekend. Israel has blamed the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah for the strike. The warning came as Netanyahu visited the site of the attack on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): Hezbollah, backed by Iran fired an Iranian missile that took the lives of 12 pure souls. 12 children that were playing soccer here and unfortunately couldn't make it to the bomb shelter. Our heart is torn by the heavy disaster. We embrace the families that are going through an indescribable suffering. These are our children, the children of all of us, and the State of Israel will not and cannot ignore this. Our response will come and it will be harsh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant d also spoke with his U.S. counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday and pledged to hold Hezbollah responsible for Saturday's rocket attack, which killed 12 children and injured more than 40 people. Hezbollah has denied responsibility.

Meantime, Iran's newly elected president is warning Israel that any attack on Lebanon "could backfire and have severe consequences." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday and stressed the need for a diplomatic solution to prevent any further escalation in the conflict with Hezbollah.

And for more we want to go to CNN's Paula Hancocks who joins us live from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you, Paula. So, what is the latest on this? And how likely is it that we will see a wider conflict in the region in the days ahead?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, this has been a concern for months now that the what is happening in Gaza could escalate into a wider conflict. And it's something that the countries have been very much focused on. So that focus is really pinpointed at this point following that deadly rocket attack on Saturday. Now we've heard from the U.S. for example, the White House has said that Israel has the right to respond to what did happen over the weekend.

But there is still a hope that this will not escalate further, that we shouldn't just assume that this means that there will be a more significant and expanded conflict in the region. Now we know from the Israeli point of view, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the response will be severe. We also know that the emergency security cabinet has given Netanyahu and his defense minister Yoav Gallant the right to the sole decision of how and when to respond to this attack.

But we have been hearing from some hoping that this would not escalate further, there have been these flashpoints in recent months and they haven't extended and expanded further, because there's simply not the appetite on either side despite the rhetoric, given how deadly this expanded conflict could be on both sides of that border. Now we have heard from the U.S. side saying that they believe that there is still time and space to try and find a diplomatic solution. Let's listen to John Kirby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:15:07]

JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: Look, Israel has every right to respond. It has glow that started firing on Israel way back in October. And I think we need to keep that in mind. But nobody wants a broader war. And I'm confident that we'll be able to avoid such an outcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, it's worth pointing out again that Hezbollah has denied responsibility for this attack. But the U.S. and Israel both believe that Hezbollah was behind the missile strike when there was that that phone call between the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin. They did talk about this, they both agreed that Hezbollah was responsible.

And from the readout, the Israeli side said that they provided evidence that they believe that Hezbollah was behind this. Now when it comes to the response itself from Israel, we have heard from the Lebanese acting Foreign Minister telling CNN, that they've had assurances from third party countries that the response would be limited, also hinting that the United States and France could be those -- among two of those countries that have given those assurances.

Now the interpretation as we understand it from the Lebanese side, at least within the government is that that means that potentially the Beirut airport will not be hit, that southern Lebanon where there is a strong Hezbollah presence will not be hit, either. But we have been hearing from many countries urging their citizens to leave Lebanon at this point. Now, there is still commercial airlines to be able to take advantage of the U.S. European countries, both urging their citizens to leave.

In fact, the U.S. said that if their citizens do not leave now, and the situation deteriorates, they must be prepared to shelter in place. They haven't though, said that they are planning to evacuate civilians at this point. And also, that the staffing and the security at the U.S. Embassy remains unchanged. Rosemary? CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Paula Hancocks joining us live from Abu Dhabi. Joining me now from Beirut, Lebanon is Maha Yahya. Director of the Carnegie Middle East Center. Appreciate you being with us.

MAHA YAHYA, DIRECTOR, MALCOLM H. KERR CARNEGIE MIDDLE EAST CENTER: Good morning, Rosemary. Good to have -- good to be with you.

CHURCH: So, Israel's Prime Minister is vowing a severe response to the deadly Golan Heights attack, increasing concerns of a wider conflict in the region. Iran has also warning Israel that any attack on Lebanon could backfire and have serious consequences. So, what response do you expect from Israel and what would be the likely consequences of that?

YAHYA: I think the best-case scenario and hopefully the most likely one is that there would be some sort of limited attack. They've already -- I mean, the Israeli army has said that repeatedly that there would be a limited attack that will be painful for Hezbollah but would not trigger an all-out war. The question is where will this attack take place and will it involve civilians? If they decide to target an area like the southern suburbs (INAUDIBLE) which is a large in the past used to be a Palestinian cap.

Today, it's a mix between Palestinians and Syrian refugees and impoverished Lebanese. So, if they decide to attack a predominantly civilian areas -- area, then that is going to elicit a different response from Hezbollah than -- if it is a targeted attack an assassination or against the weapons they pull, et cetera. So, I think it really -- it really depends on what Israel decides to do.

The question is, again, the response not only from Hezbollah but also from the allies of Hezbollah, i.e. the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq. The Houthis in Yemen, among others, will also depend on the extent of, you know, how severe the attack against Lebanon is. So, this is --

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CHURCH: Only last month, of course, the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres raised his concerns about escalating tensions was between Israel and Hezbollah, fearing a miscalculation, saying one mistake could trigger a catastrophe in the region. Of course, he also said that Lebanon cannot become another Gaza. What is the risk of a miscalculation in the midst of all of this as we await Israel's response and of Lebanon becoming another Gaza, if this does widen?

YAHYA: The risk is huge already. I believe the rocket that fell on Majdal Shams a few days ago, was a mistake.

[02:20:03]

I don't think it was a deliberate targeting. You know, I don't believe that Hezbollah deliberately targeted a football field with children playing in it. Until now, they've been limiting their targeting to military targets, basically. So, this kind of understand we've been warning about this for months now, that any accident where, you know, rocket falls on a school bus on anything, it could trigger something much broader.

Now, if Israel's response, again, is much larger, if they decide to go after civilian infrastructure, then we are looking at an all-out regional conflict because there's no doubt in my mind that the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq will also increase their attacks against not only Israel, but also U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq. We will see more activity from the Houthis as well as other partners in the region.

Now, I think Lebanon is not Gaza, in the sense that it's a different context. Hezbollah is not Hamas. This is a force that has been involved in battles in Syria, unfortunately, for the past decade, more than a decade. So, it's a battle-hardened military organization. They have been involved across the region. So, I think it's a very different context from Gaza. This is not to say that Israel does not have the capacity to inflict the kind of damage on Lebanon that we're seeing in Gaza.

It definitely does. We saw that in 2006. But that the context in Lebanon is very different. And I think the push by the international community to avoid a situation like this has been quite tremendous and will continue to be solve.

CHURCH: Right. And of course, the key to de escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah is getting a ceasefire deal in Gaza that would allow for the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Why is more effort not being invested in getting this deal done? Getting everyone to the table and figuring this out?

I think there's a lot of effort that has been done, actually. And it's still ongoing. CIA Director Burns have just been literally been shuttling back and forth. And there are many other actors that have been involved in getting a ceasefire deal. There are two calculus here. One is Hamas's calculus. They would like to see a more permanent ceasefire. They're worried that if they release all the hostages and these hostages need to be released, then they lose kind of their trump card.

But at the same time in Israel will just resume bombardment from the Israeli perspective, I think, which is where the biggest obstacle we've seen so far is that -- you've got a beleaguered Prime Minister and the government. A beleaguered Prime Minister, for whom war is a way to maintain his own political relevance, especially in light of growing discontent with his performance within Israel, amongst Israelis.

But also, a government that is, as you all know, the most far-right government that Israel has ever had. And where the ultimate goal, as they keep saying is the destruction of Hamas, but as we're seeing more and more, is actually the destruction of any viable life in Gaza. And perhaps the, you know, ethnic transfer of Palestinians at the end of the day. What we're looking at is an area that has been completely destroyed almost.

The casualties is just unbearable. The number of casualties, we're looking at many -- they're now talking about 40,000. But estimates are there at least 10 to 15 who are either under the rubble unaccounted for. People dying from famine, from injuries, from chronic diseases because they don't have access to medication. The trauma as horrific and just recovering even if the war was to stop now, recovery from that is quite difficult.

CHURCH: All right.

YAHYA: Let alone, you know, in the absence of the post -- a day after kind of scenario (INAUDIBLE) for what happens to Gaza.

CHURCH: Maha Yahya in Beirut. Many thanks for joining us. Appreciate it and appreciate your perspective on this issue.

YAHYA: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court have eroded civil liberties including reproductive rights as well as Americans' faith in the port. President Joe Biden solution just Ahead.

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[02:27:00]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. President Joe Biden is proposing a long-short radical change to the U.S. Supreme Court term limits for justices. Liberal activists have advocated for such limits and other reforms. And those cores are amping up after the courts conservative majority forced through several deeply unpopular decisions with huge ramifications. Paula Reid explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden calling for major reforms to the Supreme Court.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The course being used to weaponize an extreme and unchecked agenda.

REID (voice-over): Speaking at an event in Austin, Texas, he laid out his plan which would allow a president to select a justice every two years and limit those justices to 18-year terms.

BIDEN: That would be make timing for the course nomination more predictable and less arbitrary. Reduce the chance that a single presidency poses undue influence in generations to come.

REID (voice-over): And implement a binding Code of Conduct requiring disclosure of gifts, no public political activity and recusal from cases where justice his family has a stake. The court's current code is voluntary and has no enforcement mechanism.

BIDEN: The court is not so policing. The court is not dealing with the obvious conflicts of interest. We need a mandatory code of ethics for the Supreme Court and we need it now. REID (voice-over): He also called for a constitutional amendment that would make it clear. There is no immunity for crimes a former president commits while in office. He previously criticized the court for its recent decision and Donald Trump's claim of immunity.

BIDEN: This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America. Each, each of us is equal before the law.

REID (voice-over): The call for action comes as approval ratings for the court hover at historic lows. A recent poll and may found that 61 percent of Americans disapprove of the job the court is doing. But Biden's plan would require congressional action on a highly partisan issue. Republican leaders in both chambers promising it's going nowhere fast. With Speaker Mike Johnson saying it's dead on arrival in the House and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell calling the proposal an attack on the court.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): An all-out campaign against the court's legitimacy and ultimately against its very existence.

REID (voice-over): And on the 2024 campaign trail, the Supreme Court remains a hot button issue.

BIDEN: She will try as hard as she can to add as many justices as possible to the U.S. Supreme Court. We don't want that to happen, do we?

REID (voice-over): Leonard Leo who helped Trump install a conservative supermajority on the High Court issued a rare statement review King Biden's plan. If Democrats want to adopt and across the board at the expand for all branches, I'm in favor of that.

[02:30:07]

Until they support that, let's all be honest about what this is, a campaign to destroy a court that they disagree with.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID (on camera): The White Houser revealed that Vice President Harris was closely consulted on this proposal, and she even endorsed it on Monday. But the White House stopped short of saying that this was a realistic proposal that could actually pass Congress, instead saying they were merely going to give it "the old team try." Now, the court has not weighed in.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: And we'll be right back.

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CHURCH: A landslide in southern India has killed 43 people according to state media. Officials say rescue and relief operations are underway, but it is unclear how many people are trapped. Emergency responders say they've already recovered some bodies. The landslide occurred after heavy rain in the state of Kerala; at least one bridge has collapsed, cutting off a village.

And CNN's Hanako Montgomery is following this story for us, live from Tokyo. She joins us now. Hanako, what more are you learning about this deadly landslide?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, it is a very deadly landslide and a very dire situation for the southern state in India. As you mentioned, at least 43 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds more are feared stranded or trapped under this massive landslide and the debris that came with it. And rescue operations are currently underway, but they face a number of hurdles in trying to get those remaining survivors.

The first hurdle is that crucial bridge collapse that you just mentioned, a very crucial bridge has collapsed and that has meant that hundreds of people are stranded in remote Indian villages, making it just that much more difficult for emergency workers to get to them, to get to those survivors, and get them the aid that they need. Now, the second hurdle that they have to contend with is that some of these roads leading to these remote villages have completely collapsed or have been destroyed in part due to the fallen trees, due to the fallen debris. So again, just making it that much more difficult to get to those remaining survivors.

Now, I just want you to take a look at this video near a crucial bridge that I just mentioned. Take a look at this, Rosemary.

[02:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): So, you can see there has just been a lot of damage here and weather it continues to be bad. The Indian authorities have said that parts of the army and national police have been deployed to get those remaining people out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: But again, because the weather just continues to be bad, they can't actually use some of the helicopters deployed to remove and to get those people stranded.

And just one thing to note also, Rosemary, is that it is currently monsoon season in India right now. It lasts until around September and again, this is a very hilly part of India, so landslides are quite common, but India will have to contend with several more extreme weather cases such as this one for at least the next few weeks, or at least the next few months. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Hanako Montgomery, many thanks for your live report from Tokyo. Appreciate it.

To the war in Ukraine now, where Russia says its forces have captured a village in the east, the latest in a string of frontline advances Moscow has claimed in recent weeks. It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Special Forces in the border region of Kharkiv.

Russian troops launched a surprise ground offensive there in May, but Ukraine's military thwarted that attempt. President Zelenskyy said Kharkiv's air defenses are being strengthened and that Russian air attacks in the region have begun to ease. President Zelenskyy praised the U.S. Monday after it announced a new military aid package for Ukraine, totaling nearly $2 billion.

The aid mostly consists of missiles and ammunition for defense systems. It is the 20th aid package being sent through the Ukraine Security Assistance initiative. President Zelenskyy posted on X in part, "This assistance shows America's strength and leadership in the face of aggression and terror."

Olympic triathletes are stuck in limbo as poor water quality on the River Seine threatens to upend the competition at the Paris Games. We'll take a closer look.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, the U.S. Secretary of State and Defense Secretary have made their Philippine counterparts and President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. in Manila. Beijing's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea is expected to dominate the talks. Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin are touring Asia to shore up alliances as Washington tries to counter China's growing influence.

And CNN's Mike Valerio is in Seoul. He joins us now live. Good to see you, Mike. So, what is the significance of this visit? And what do we expect to come out of it?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we'll go through a couple layers of significance in two minutes, Rosemary.

[02:40:00]

So the first one is, this is the first time that the secretaries of state and defense from the United States have been invited to Manila to hold such a meeting about the Philippines-United States alliance. But more broadly speaking, in terms of all of us watching here, this has to do with the South China Sea, Rosemary, which is one of the most important bodies of water in terms of global trade estimates, have up to a third of global trade going through the South China Sea.

So if you've got a phone in your office, the room you're watching from, chances are computer or phone came through that waterway. On the screen, you see a dotted red line, that is China's claim to nearly the entire South China Sea, which has certainly been at the expense and to the ire of the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam. Neighboring countries are saying, not so fast, we have rights up to 200 miles -- nautical miles from our coastline to those waters. So, that is in direct contradiction with the dotted red line map that you see right there.

So, what the Philippines wants, they want help, Rosemary, from the United States to keep these vital trade routes free from Chinese control. Listen to the Philippines President on that front. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FERDINAND MARCOS JR., PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT: I am always very happy that these communication lines are very open, so that all the things that we are doing together in terms of our alliance, in terms of the specific context about a situation here in the West Philippine Sea and in the Indo-Pacific are continuously examined and re-examined, so we are agile in terms of our responses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: Wrapping up quickly, President Marcos said that, interestingly, Rosemary, he was somewhat surprised to see both secretaries of state and defense of Manila, considering all that is happening back in the United States.

But the U.S. is trying to play the long game here, securing this alliance, trying to keep these sea links open. China also so playing the long game, they have a huge interest in running the rule, setting the table of how trade is conducted, and who controls this key part of the world, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Mike Valerio in Seoul, many thanks. Appreciate it.

Well, in the city of light, the fate of the Olympic triathlon events looks murky. Paris has spent roughly $1.5 billion to clean up the River Seine to ensure swimming events are safe. But heavy rain during Friday's opening ceremony also flushed pollution downstream. Now, the men's triathlon, which was set for Tuesday, is postponed to Wednesday due to the poor water quality. And if all else fails, the event could be reduced to just the running and cycling events.

CHURCH: I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is up next. Then I will be back in about 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.

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