This is CBS Eye on the World.

Here's John Batchelor.

It's a great pleasure to welcome my colleague and mentor, Gregory Copley, Defense and Foreign Affairs, editor and publisher,

as well as the author of the new book, Noble State,

we turn to the matter at hand, which is the mystery of the Chinese military, continually being purged.

What does it mean? Within these hours, Financial Times, the pink paper out of London,

Chinese defense minister set to skip security forum in Singapore, subhead.

Admiral's absence from Shangri-La dialogue would come as Xi Jinping purges high-level officers.

Gregory, a very good evening to you.

When I read this headline within these hours, I thought,

Gregory has told me something funny going on with the military and Xi Jinping.

My memory of the way you presented it is the military has told him quite clearly.

The generals, the admirals, the defense ministers,

and there have been a series of them who've been purged,

that we're not ready to fight your war. We're not going to do it. We're not capable to take on the U.S.

Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and the collective might of Japan and all the rest of our neighbors.

We're not ready. And she either listened to them or not.

I'm not sure how he responded.

But he keeps purging people.

He chose.

Foreign ministers, defense ministers,

admirals, generals, they keep

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