CNN "CNN Newsroom" - TRANSCRIPT Three Potential Shootings Thwarted; Prosecutors Place Murdaugh at Scene Before Murders; Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) is Interviewed about the U.S. Boosting its Military in the Taiwan Area; Homeschooling Network under Investigation in Ohio. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Interview

[BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT]

GOLODRYGA: Chinese officials reacting angry this morning to a U.S. move to gain access to military bases in the Philippines, saying the move, quote, escalated tension in the region and endangers regional peace and stability. Foreign ministry officials are responding to the U.S. striking a deal with the Philippines to access four more bases in the country, giving the U.S. its largest military presence on the island in 30 years.

The goal, to gain a strategic advantage in the fight over the South China Sea close to self-ruled Taiwan.

Well, joining me now is Congressman Seth Moulton, Democrat from Massachusetts. He has recently been appointed to sit on the newly formed select committee on China.

Congressman, great to have you on.

So, let's talk about this move. On the one hand it helps reassure regional allies that the U.S. has its back as China is becoming more aggressive in the South China Sea. On the other hand, it's coming as there are increased concerns about potential conflict between the two countries. I don't have to remind you that an Air Force general just recently noted that he fears that war could happen within the next year or two. Now, that's not the official line of the U.S. military, but it is stunning.

And my question to you is, does this deal now with Philippines, is it a sign that the U.S. is perhaps preparing for some kind of conflict?

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): Well, it's a sign that we're taking the threat of Chinese aggression seriously. And, Bianna, let me just say, as someone who's done four combat tours in Iraq, I know in a very personal way that we must avoid war with China. A war with China would be brutal.

And the key to preventing war with China is to show Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party that if they start a war, they will lose.

[09:45:04] Now, a key part of our strategy, to make sure that they lose any such war, is our relationship with the allies. You can see how important our allies have been in the Ukraine war in Europe. Our allies in the Pacific need some strengthening. I actually led a bipartisan congressional delegation to the Philippines in October. And one of the conclusions was, we need to do more to shore up our alliance with the Philippines. That's exactly what's happening today. So, the Biden administration deserves a lot of credit for this deal.

GOLODRYGA: So there's the military aspect here and the increased conflicts and tensions between the two countries. There's also an economic and national security conflict that's brewing as well. And I want to get you to respond to what Democratic Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado said. He's calling on Apple and Google to now completely remove TikTok from the app stores calling it a, quote, unacceptable threat to the national security of the United States.

Now, previously we had seen TikTok removed from certain government devices, right, but this is a completely larger, separate move.

Do you agree with that? Do you agree with that call, it is a national security threat?

MOULTON: Well, look, this is controversial because, of course, a lot of Americans like TikTok. But, at the end of the day, it is a threat to our national security.

And let me just speak for a second as a dad. I don't want an app that steals my daughter's data and influences their behavior on their phones. Now, they're too young to have phones right now, but they're going to get phones someday soon and I don't want a Chinese company stealing their data. That's exactly what TikTok does. And so it is a threat, not just to our national security rite large, but, frankly, to American families.

GOLODRYGA: So, do you think that Apple and Google should heed those warning and remove TikTok from their app stores?

MOULTON: Well, one of the things we're going to be discussing on the China committee is how to respond in a comprehensive way to all these national security threats, some of which come in the form of missiles pointed at Taiwan, some of which come in the form of apps that show up on our apps - on the app stores on our phones. And we're going to have to be able to develop a comprehensive strategy because maybe we should ban TikTok, but then what happens to the next TikTok that comes along?

So, these actions that Senator Bennett is - are -- is calling for on TikTok specifically, they probably make sense. But let's make sure we have a comprehensive policy so that the next app gets dealt with as well.

GOLODRYGA: Let me ask you to respond quickly to what prominent hedge fund manager Ray Dalio said this morning about China. And he said, we are at the brink of economic war with the country. Is he right?

MOULTON: Well, look, there's certainly a risk of that. But you also have to remember that our economies are incredibly intertwined. We depend on the Chinese market. We depend on Chinese suppliers and they depend on us.

What the Biden administration has been trying to do is take a targeted approach. Not completely shut off commerce with China, but say that if you're buying things that can be used against us militarily, you're not going to do that anymore. That's the kind of approach that we need to take.

Now, the challenge, of course, is extending this to things like the apps on your phone, like TikTok. That's more complicated. But that's exactly the kind of issue that we're going to examine on the China Select Committee.

GOLODRYGA: Listen, we are intertwined, but no one expected the two to start decoupling as quickly as we have, which is why so many fear of what's to come, both militarily and economically in just the few years ahead.

Congressman Seth Moulton, always great to see you. Thanks so much.

MOULTON: Good to see you, Bianna.

[BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT]

Source