India Train Crash, Biden Debt Ceiling Speech, China Tensions

900.

President Biden will soon sign a bill to raise the debt ceiling.

We averted an economic crisis, an economic collapse.

Also, the U.S. tests the waters quite literally between China and Taiwan, as the Secretary

of Defense outlines renewed military interest in the Asian Pacific region.

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in decades.

torches.

Thank you so much for being with us, Shalu.

Odisha, in Balasore district.

That's about 140 miles from Kolkata, when multiple coaches of a passenger train derailed

before being struck by another passenger train, which in turn derailed as well.

Now, there's a third train, a freight train, that's believed to be involved in the accident

as well.

Visuals on the television and social media show the coaches and the wreckage still lying

on the railway tracks.

Dead bodies being carried away from the spot, even as the scale of this tragedy is still

panning out.

Now, we have one of the survivors on tape, though unfortunately, we don't have his name.

He said he woke up from the impact once the train derailed and saw multiple people piled

on top of one another.

When he left his carriage, he saw someone had lost their hand, another person had lost

their leg, and someone else's face was disfigured.

Officials say the death toll is expected to rise further as more bodies are found.

The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained.

A probe has been ordered and the prime minister held a high-level meeting to review the situation.

He's visiting the site today.

How are the local authorities in Odisha prepared to handle all the people who need help?

There have been more than 200 ambulances there taking the injured to the hospitals.

Those who survive have been looking desperately for their loved ones.

And locals are rushing in large numbers to donate blood at the hospitals.

In fact, they had been helping the rescue teams and provided them with supplies of food

and water overnight.

The National Disaster Response Force, along with the Rapid Action Force and police forces

had all been working against the clock as every minute is precious to save lives in

such situations.

deadly.

What kind of efforts are going on to try and improve safety?

India's railway network is actually one of the oldest and largest in the world.

It's always a work in progress.

And yes, accidents are very common, despite the government investing hundreds of millions

of dollars to improve the infrastructure.

The latest accident is believed to be the worst India has seen in the last two decades.

Now, such mishaps are mostly blame on human error or outdated signaling equipment.

occur.

that often causes such tragedies.

People are asking why the government is spending more on high-speed trains when the older passenger

trains remain outdated and prone to disasters.

But politically, such tragedies often bring all parties together to look for solutions

and immediate relief for victims.

Even so, there are calls for the resignation of the railway minister, as many are saying

that he should take responsibility for this tragedy.

NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid was watching.

She joins me now.

Welcome.

Resolute desk in the Oval Office.

What was the point that he wanted to make last night?

have become a financial catastrophe.

And really, Ayesha, it was striking to me that he was rather effusive at moments in

his praise for the Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy.

Biden emphasized this notion of bipartisanship.

a moment like this one, the ones we just faced, where the American economy and the world economy

is at risk of collapsing, there's no other way.

find compromise.

And that is, in fact, what he has done throughout this debt ceiling debate.

But I do think there was another message he was trying to send last night, and that was

more political.

You know, he highlighted his own political Democratic priorities.

He spoke about being able to protect things like Medicaid and Social Security and also

spoke about some of the things he still wants to achieve, like raising taxes on the wealthy.

to try to avoid default and what the impact would have been.

So why Biden bother to make these remarks at all?

Like we already knew this was important, right?

I mean, throughout the debates on the debt ceiling, the president was reluctant to talk

to reporters about the negotiations.

And that was in stark contrast to Republicans who were constantly talking to the press.

The White House has often said that Biden does not like to negotiate in public.

This speech was, I think, an opportunity for him to, you know, look presidential, seem

above the fray.

And it also comes at a time when the 2024 presidential campaign is starting to heat

up.

It allows the president to provide some contrast with the Republicans in the field who we saw

all last week were, you know, quibbling amongst themselves.

I also think it's a reminder of how he has said he intends to govern, to go back to this

issue of bipartisanship.

And it was also, you know, an answer to some on the left who really wanted to see him make

a bigger case for his own priorities throughout these talks.

way Biden has handled it.

So does this debt ceiling deal help alleviate some of those concerns?

The president said yesterday that because this deal is in place, the economy can continue

to soar. You know, if you look at economic data, you saw new jobs numbers yesterday.

They continue to be rather robust.

Inflation has been coming down for 10 consecutive months.

Prices are dropping.

But at the same time, this debt drama has created questions about whether the country

is totally in the clear.

You saw Fitch Rating Service warn yesterday that it could still downgrade the U.S.

credit rating. And I spoke with the Democratic pollster yesterday, Celinda Lake, who said

that voters seem to be beginning to feel a bit more positive about the economy, but

they're still anxious, particularly around prices and inflation.

And they're nervous about whether or not the stability is, in fact, here to stay.

She told me that voters need to see these positive economic trends continue for a number

of more months in order to really feel confident and ultimately for Biden to ultimately

get the kind of political credit that he is seeking.

He challenged China to reopen lines of communication between the two countries'

The right time to talk is every time.

took a step that suggested it isn't just going to play Mr.

Nice Guy. The U.S.

sailed a Navy ship through the Taiwan Strait.

NPR's Emily Fang is in Singapore.

She's covering the meeting, as you'll tell from all the background noise.

Emily, thanks so much for being with us.

What did he lay out as U.S.

priorities in the Asia-Pacific area?

military is reorienting itself back to being a maritime power in the Pacific.

Because remember, the last two decades, the U.S.

military was primarily in the Middle East.

But now they're pivoting back to the Asia-Pacific,

which means it's expanding its military drills with Asian partners and allies.

Austin talked about sharing new technology with Australia and Japan.

And one of the big questions is where the U.S.-China

military relationship is headed, because earlier this week,

China rejected an invitation from the U.S.

for their two defense chiefs to speak.

And China has cut off direct communication channels

between the two militaries since last summer.

Now, last night, the British think tank that organizes this summit

called the Shangri-La Dialogue, they conveniently seated Secretary

Austin next to China's Defense Minister Li Xiangfu at this dinner we were all at.

And the two did shake hands.

They said hi to each other. But that's about it.

And as you just heard in the intro, Austin said the U.S.

is ready to talk to China more substantially.

But at the same time that he was speaking, the U.S.

Navy and the Canadian Navy, by the way, sailed a warship each

through the Taiwan Strait near Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.

Anyway, in particular?

so we will hear more from him tomorrow.

But I managed to interview Lieutenant General He Lei.

He helps head the Chinese Military Academy in Beijing,

and he dismissed Austin's speech as a gesture for a public show only.

He says if the two defense chiefs were to meet,

we need to first get rid of unilateral sanctions.

The U.S. keeps trying to push back on China's bottom line

and threaten its core interests.

So the conditions were just not there for a meeting.

And Lieutenant General He is referring to the fact that back in 2018,

the U.S. actually sanctioned the man who just this year became

China's new defense chief, Li Xiangfu.

So China wants those sanctions dropped first before they agree to any meeting.

And they want the U.S.

to back off militarily in the Asia-Pacific, stop those close exchanges with Taiwan.

That's the island China claims as its territory.

But the U.S. has a strong interest to protect.

I mean, it sounds like they're creating circumstances for more disagreement.

the significant investments the U.S.

military is making to buy new weapons, develop new weapons,

share those with partners in the Asia-Pacific.

And in his speech, he made clear the U.S.

is not trying to create an alliance like NATO in the Pacific,

but China doesn't believe him.

They're genuinely afraid this is happening.

And China just doesn't believe the promises or gestures the U.S. has made.

It's demanding things the U.S.

is committed to as critical defense strategy, and it's not going to back away from.

Thanks so much. Thanks, Scott.

And that's up first for Saturday, June 3rd, 2023.

I'm Scott Simon.

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