well dr Ely Ratner , Assistant
Secretary of Defense for indo pacific
Affairs Admiral john Aquilino . Um the
Commander for US indo pacific command
and general paul la camera , the
Commander for the United Nations
Command , Combined Forces , US forces
Korea . I realized that yesterday's
hearing , I did not read our little
hybrid statement um which is very
tempting by the way because everything
seemed to go just fine even though I
didn't read it but I will I will read
it this morning . We have a hybrid
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feature to communicate with staff
regarding technical and logistical
support issues only . Finally I've
designated committee staff member to if
necessary , mute unrecognized members
microphones to cancel any inadvertent
background noise that may disrupt the
proceedings . Thank you . Wanna thank
our witnesses for being here . Look
forward to their their testimony
questions and answers . The indo
pacific region is a crucially important
region to the national security of the
U . S . And to the peace and stability
of the world . Obviously we have
learned that the entire world is a
challenge um with with Russia's
unprovoked um and devastating invasion
of Ukraine . We have been reminded that
we can't just focus on one part of the
world . But the indo pacific region is
clearly one of the most important parts
of the world . It will be important as
we go through all of these hearings
from all the different regions , how
interconnected everything is . Um It's
not just , you know , great power
competition . We deal with Russia and
deal with china Russia and china as we
know , are actively engaged in in many
parts of the world and the competition
here really is to build broad support
amongst partners um and that is a
global endeavor to basically show that
partnering with the U . S . In the west
is the better option for for frankly
all countries than partnering with
Russia and china . Um and the indo
pacific region gives us an outstanding
opportunity to do that . It has been
described as the pacing threat .
However you wanna put it , china is
without question , the country most
capable of competing with the US in
terms of their economic strength , in
terms of their growing military
strength , in terms of their global
reach . Um now we all want a world
where China and the US peacefully
coexist and that is what we are working
towards . But over the course of the
last decade at least , it has become
clear that President Xi and China
intends something more combative than
that . Um They are trying to push us
out and advance an authoritarian way of
looking at the world that has very
little respect for human rights or
anything other than the blunt force of
what they want , economically we need
to compete against that , we need to
convince the world to go in a different
direction and to do that , we need a
robust presence in the indo pacific
region . It's it's just that simple .
Uh and our military is a huge part of
that . We have an important defense
relationships um certainly with Japan
and South Korea , but with a number of
other countries as well , we must
maintain and strengthen those
relationships and we must attempt to be
a balancing force to keep the peace in
in Asia obviously nowhere is that more
important than on Taiwan , the
belligerent language that china has
been putting out recently is you know ,
very , very dangerous . You know , we
could easily see china Taiwan situation
in the same way we now see a Russia
Ukraine situation . We need to
constantly remind china that that is
not the way global powers are supposed
to behave whatever dispute differences
they have with Taiwan , they should be
resolved peacefully , not through the
use of military force , but a big part
of making sure that happens is to have
an adequate deterrence , is to build
partnerships and have a presence in the
region that lets china know that that
is not an acceptable or doable option
and that requires us to have a robust
presence . I am particularly interested
this morning in . Well , two Big Things
one how are our relationships and
partnerships going in the region ? I
think that's incredibly important India
in particular . Um you know , it's the
largest democracy in the world , but a
country that has had a history in the
past of being closer to Russia in many
ways than to us , but is now moving in
our direction , if we can enhance that
relationship and strengthen and I think
that makes the world a better and more
peaceful place . And then second , this
committee has been briefed repeatedly
over the course of the last six or
seven years about everything that china
has done in their military
modernization , to try to counter us to
basically put our systems and our
forces at risk into in essence push us
out of the region . We've known about
that for some time . I know that we are
working on how to adjust to that , How
to you know , change our force
structure to better deal with what
china has done . Uh we need to put meat
on those bones , what what is it we're
doing , what is it we need to be doing ?
What are the most important things to
fund ? Uh To me it comes down to two
words as a starting point and that is
information and survivability . Um
China is very focused on improving
their command and control information
systems and also equally focused on
making ours vulnerable , not making
ours vulnerable on taking hours down on
being able to basically blind us and
shut us down by shutting down our
communication systems and our
information systems . How are we
improving that ? Um and survivability .
It's the platforms that can get into
the to the region and survive with
china's missile technology with their
cyber technology and their ability shut
down our information systems . And as
we have talked about ad nauseum on that
committee , this comes down a lot to
innovation and new technology . Um and
Israeli readily acknowledged that the
pentagon is not as good at that as they
should be . Let's just put it that way .
We've got to be able to find new
technologies , make the best use out of
them figure out how to make them
applicable faster , quicker and better ,
something we're really focused on . So
I look forward to hearing from our
witnesses this morning on those topics
and others . And with that I will yield
to the ranking member . Mr Rogers .
Thank you . Mr Chairman and I would be
remiss if I didn't acknowledge the
entrance of one of our former
colleagues . Mr rodeo . Good to serve .
Guam good to see you again .
Uh huh . Thank you . Mr Chairman . I do
thank the witnesses for being here and
the time it took to prepare for this ,
the conflict between the chinese
Communist Party and american democracy
will be one of the greatest test this
nation has ever faced . Modernized
military , well armed allies and a
lethal Taiwan are essential to
countering china but we also need
operational concepts that are executed
over the past year . Members of this
committee have asked questions about
endo pay comparability to carry out its
operational requirements to date .
We've gotten a few answers to serious
questions about contested logistics ,
Few answers on accelerating new
infrastructure and few answers on
delivering new technology to the
battlefield . To make matters worse ,
the Secretary announced monday his
intention to close the massive Redhill
fuel depot within a year . Redhill has
serious problems . But the secretary
closed Redhill without laying out the
resources needed to replace that
capacity . That's extremely short
sighted . The response from the
department has been the same . The
answer is just one policy announcement
away and that's unacceptable . What I
would like to hear from each of you
today is exactly how you will employ
new operational concepts , filled new
systems and ensure logistic support at
new operating locations throughout the
indo pacific . But most importantly , I
want to know how you intend to do that
in the next five years . We all know
China is going is not going to give us
10 or 20 years to prepare for the
conflict . We simply cannot
procrastinate any further . The issues
like Redhill present an opportunity to
modernize beyond the World war two
logistics model . But I'm deeply
worried about the cycle of indecision
and procrastination at the pentagon and
I'm also worried about getting this
important work done in the timeframe
that we have to act . This committee
has tried to provide the department the
capabilities that needs to deter china
and ensure we prevail if conflict
arises arises but we can't move with
purpose if the department can't define
its requirements . We've tried to nail
those down in the P . D . I . Congress
created the pacific deterrence
initiative to highlight and expedite
the most essential capabilities but the
pentagon kneecapped the pd process last
year with poor guidance and unclear
plans . I hope the deal d can rectify
that in this year's budget submission
on top of all this . We've tasked
general the camera with holding off
North Korea in any other year . North
Korea's repeated missile tests would be
front page news general . You just so
happen to pick a very busy time to
start trying to deal with your
challenges over there . The South
Koreans are essential allies and
deepening our defense cooperation with
them makes us all safer . We want to
know what you need to secure the korean
peninsula in the coming decade . This
committee is ready to make bold
investments in our defense . I hope to
hear today that the department is ready
to do the same with that . Mr Chairman
of your back . Thank you . DR Abner .
Well , uh chairman smith ranking member
Rogers . Distinguished members of the
committee , thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today
and it's a privilege to be here with
Admiral Aquilino in general . The
camera as you know , the indo pacific
is the priority theater for the
Department of Defense and we remain
committed to upholding a free and open
regional order . At the same time , the
region faces mounting security
challenges , particularly from the
people's Republic of china . The PRC
which has adopted a more coercive and
assertive approach to advancing its
authoritarian interests . North Korea's
weapons of mass destruction and
ballistic missile programs also
constitute a serious threat to the
United States and our allies and
partners . Mr Chairman Secretary Austin
has described the PRC as the
department's top pacing challenge .
This prioritization will be reflected
in the forthcoming national defense
strategy and fy 23 budget as we
continue to update our concepts
capabilities , enforce posture to
defend the homeland deter aggression
and prepare to prevail in conflict . We
are prioritizing capabilities relevant
to the china challenge to enable a
joint force that is lethal and able to
strike adversary forces and systems
that range resilient and able to gain
information advantage and maintain
command and control through adversary
disruptions . Survivable and agile in
the face of adversary attacks that seek
to reduce combat power and mobilization
speed and able to provide the logistics
and sustainment needed for operations
in a highly contested environment .
Alongside these capabilities were
building a combat credible force
posture in the indo pacific , working
toward a more distributed , lethal and
resilient forward posture essential to
addressing the full suite of challenges
we face in the region . We are also
doubling down on one of our greatest
strategic advantages . Our network of
allies and partners . As I look across
the region , I see our defense ties
growing at a rapid pace with the US .
Japan alliance is the cornerstone of
regional peace . We're deepening our
defense cooperation with the Japan self
defense forces , optimizing our
alliance force posture and integrating
the alliance into a broader regional
security network of like minded nations .
We are also continuing to strengthen
the US rok alliance , the linchpin of
peace and stability on the korean
peninsula and in the indo pacific
region remaining focused on enhancing
deterrence and alliance readiness the U .
S . Australia alliance is also surging
forward with considerable momentum .
Last year we announced several new
initiatives to substantially deep
enforced posture cooperation in land ,
air and maritime domains . And we
announced the historic august
trilateral security partnership with
the United Kingdom and Australia . We
recognize the importance of our
alliances with the Philippines and
Thailand as well as we are proud of the
work we have done to revive the
Visiting forces agreement with the
Philippines and the steps we are taking
to strengthen our security cooperation
with our tie allies . Likewise , we are
seeing historic progress in our major
defense partnership with India as we
continue to integrate and
operationalize our day to day defense
cooperation and logistics , enhance
information sharing and grow our
bilateral cooperation in emerging
domains such as space and cyberspace .
And we've been working throughout
Southeast ASia to strengthen
capabilities and improve our
interoperability with partners
including Singapore , Vietnam ,
Indonesia Malaysia and Timor Leste , we
are also bringing our partners together
with colleagues across the U . S .
Government to elevate the quad as a
premier regional grouping . While we
remain committed to Asean centrality
consistent with our commitment to our
one china policy , the Taiwan relations
act , The three joint communiques and
the six assurances . We are focused on
maintaining peace and stability in the
Taiwan strait with the PRC is the
department's pacing challenge . Taiwan
is the pacing scenario and we aim to
deter and deny PRC aggression through a
combination of Taiwan's own defenses .
Its partnership with the United States
and growing support from like minded
democracies . Finally , Mr Chairman ,
I'd like to thank , I'd like to close
by thanking all of you for your strong
bipartisan support for the indo pacific
It is my firm belief that this
bipartisanship is one of our most
powerful assets in rising to the china
challenge and should be nurtured and
treated as such . Thank you for your
time and attention and I look forward
to your questions . Thank you . Admiral
Aquilino Chairman smith ranked ranking
member Rogers and the distinguished
members of the committee . Thank you
for also allowing me to appear today
and have a conversation I really ,
truly appreciated are closed session
yesterday . Thank you for that . I also
would like to thank all of you for your
dedicated support to the indo pacific
command , our service members and their
families . The people's Republic of
China is the most consequential
strategic competitor that the United
States has faced . They are executing a
dedicated campaign that utilizes all
forms of national power in an attempt
to uproot the rules based international
order to the benefit of themselves and
at the expense of all others .
Russia also presents a serious , some
serious risks as evident from their
unprovoked and unjustified attack on
the Ukraine . Russia has no regard for
international law , its own commitments
or any principles that uphold global
peace . Similarly , the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea . The Dprk
as well as violent extremist
organizations also pose acute acute
threats to peace and stability in the
indo pacific region . To address these
threats , Secretary Austin has
articulated clear priorities defend the
homeland deter our adversaries and
strengthen our allies and partners .
These priorities are advanced through
integrated deterrents , which is the
department's approach to preventing
conflict through the synchronization of
all elements of national power ,
coordinated with the joint force across
all domains , together with our allies
and partners . Indo pak com's mission
is to prevent conflict through the
execution of integrated deterrence and
should deterrence fail , we must be
prepared to fight and win , seize
the initiative , describes in Dope
Occam's approach to accomplishing these
missions . This approach requires the
joint force to think act and operate
differently by realigning our posture ,
advancing our warfighting capabilities
in order to provide the president and
the Secretary with options across the
entire spectrum of competition , crisis
or conflict effective deterrence
requires significant investment to
defend the homeland , protect the joint
force , operate in contested space and
provide all domain battlespace
awareness with an integrated fires
network that synchronizes the joint
force . These initiatives are
incorporated into the theater campaign
plan . They are facilitated and
supported by agile logistics , a robust
experimentation program as well as
exercises and constant
collaboration with our allies and
partners to promote peace in the region .
We must take concerted efforts to
increase our resilience and strengthen
our capabilities through and sustained
investments , utilizing
predictable budgets , a strong
industrial base and reliable supply
chains . I'm optimistic . We will see a
strategy based FY 23 budget that takes
the appropriate initial steps to
address key adversarial challenges and
increase our warfighting advantages .
The resources we commit now and in the
future will preserve a free and open
indo pacific , strengthen our
deterrence posture and provide us the
ability to fight and win . Should
deterrence fail . Thanks to the
committee and I look forward to your
questions . Thank you . General A
camera chairman smith
recommended Rogers and distinguished
members of the committee . Thank you
for the opportunity to appear with you
today . I appreciate your leadership
and dedication in supporting our total
force and our families who work with
our korean allies and United Nations
sending states in order to maintain a
stable and secure environment on the
korean peninsula . I would also like to
thank President Biden , Secretary
Austin , General Milley for their
continued leadership and support along
with Admiral Aquilino , the functional
combatant commanders who support us ,
my fellow component commanders and my
inner agency colleagues . It's easy to
stand on freedom's frontier with this
tremendous support . Finally , I want
to thank our korean hosts and their
professional military . I'm pleased to
update you on the great work done by
our dedicated personnel who served in
the Republic of Korea . They are
professionally executing the missions
of the United Nations command ,
combined forces , command in the United
States forces Korea . United States ,
Republic of Korea alliance was forged
in the crucible of battle . While the
democratic people's , Republic of Korea
continues to pose multiple threats to
the region and international security .
This alliance remains the linchpin of
regional stability And has prevented a
resumption of the hostilities that
shredded peace on the Korean peninsula
some 72 years ago . It remains ironclad
and our service members along with the
Republic of Korea military are trained
and ready to respond to a provocation
or crisis if called upon or three
commands . United Nations Command ,
Combined Forces command and United
States forces Korea must remain
vigilant , prepared and ready under one
commander . These three commands are
empowered to maintain a stabilized
security environment for the Republic
of Korea . Our regional allies and our
partners . We have international
legitimacy through the United Nations
Command whose mission is to enforce the
1953 armistice agreement , coordinate U .
N . Sending state contributions and
execute assigned functions directed by
the United United States national
authorities through the Joint Chiefs of
Staff to preserve peace and security on
the korean peninsula . We are proud of
the combined teamwork of the U . S .
Korean Alliance . Combined forces
command is the combined warfighting
headquarters representing the US Korea
bilateral military partnership formed
in 1978 . It's a unique entity . It
takes policy direction emissions from
the Combined Military Committee and is
governed by and subject to buy national
decision making and consensus . We
maintain our strong US commitment to
Korea . Us forces Korea is the premier
joint force committed to defending the
security of the Republic of Korea .
It's discipline trained and ready to
fight tonight , responding crisis and
win and conflict central to meeting any
threats as resource in the
strengthening of our forces and best
possible care of our families . I'm
grateful for your support and
leadership in these no failed tasks . I
know you're aware of South Korea's
powerful economic military and
technical standings , no doubt you're
aware of their social impact . All of
this is part of the hard work
discipline and dedication of the
current korean people . All done under
the security umbrella of the US Korea
alliance . The Republic of Korea is an
incredible ally and its privileged .
It's a privilege to move into the
future together with them in the land
of the morning calm , moderate a
command and serve this dedicated
multinational combined and joint force
and one of the most significant dynamic
regions of the world . Those who serve
there are committed , capable and well
supported . The forces postured to
deter aggression , protect U . S .
Interests and if needed defeat any
adversary . As long as the threat
persists , the US korean alliance
remains vigilant , determined and
steadfast in defense of the korean
peninsula and across the region . As
the commander of these incredible
service members , I appreciate this
committee's continued support to fully
prepare them to fight and win On the
most dangerous piece of ground . The
last 100 m of land , sea and air under
one flag . Kaci copied a we go together .
Fight tonight . Thank you for the
opportunity to provide an opening
statement . I look forward to your
questions . Thank you very much . One
programming note before we get going
with questions , they're they're gonna
be votes at some point . It's my
intention to continue the hearing
through the votes because it would be
impossible if we had to take that delay .
There's about a half hour , probably 40
minutes between the two votes . So
we're just gonna rotate people in and
out and we'll figure out how we're
gonna do that . Uh we're gonna keep
going . Uh general commerce . So we
talked a little bit about alliances and
the different pieces out there . First
of all , I know South Korea is I think
just completed their elections as we're
sitting here or in the middle of them
in any right . So curious how that's
going if you've heard . But how do you
see South Korea ? Not just in terms of
North Korea though , I want to hear
about that as well . Fitting into the
larger partnership , We've talked about
the quad that we've developed with
Japan Australia and India and other
partners . How to South Korea view the
competition with China in the region
and how can we best use them as a
partner and an ally in the region for
that . And then I would be curious to
get your sort of latest take on what
what North Korea is thinking with their
little latest missile tests and how you
evaluate that threat at the moment .
Thank you , Chairman . Uh I think the
challenge with the Republic of Korea is
that , you know , the first thing
they'll tell you is their economic
partner is China . Their security
partner is uh is the United States .
And that's that can be a little bit
concerning because as we as we go
forward , the concern is always , are
they or the North Koreans ? Really to
your second question , are they trying
to drive a wedge between us , the
United States ? Um , and the and the
Republic of Korea As a way of winning
without fighting ? Uh , Thad was a
perfect example in 2017 where they put
some economic pressure on the Republic
of Korea . Uh , we have seemed to come
out of that . Um we have that up and
running and we continue to , to move
forward . I look at the Republic of
Korea and quite frankly , the United
Nations sending states and the Rock US
or the Australian alliance or Japanese
alliance has opportunities to get the
Koreans off the peninsula to do some
additional training as training becomes
a little bit restricted . Um and um ,
but also to expose them to other other
militaries when it comes to Dprk . I
think he is focused solely internally
on protecting his regime . And that's
what these uh , this nuclear testing
and the rock the missiles is really
about protecting his position in the
world . Thank you . And dr Abner and
Admiral Aquilino when it comes to the
big question of how we present a
legitimate deterrence to china in the
region , given what they've done in the
last decade . And I know it's no one
thing . But if you could sort of sum up
how we need to change our military
capability . Um , because in terms of
where we should spend our money , what
programs we should put the highest
priority on what are the capability or
capabilities that we most need to get
better at and developed to counter what
china has done . Thanks MR Chairman ,
I'll go first if it's okay with DR
ratner . First of all , I think we must
look through the PRC issue as not just
today . Right . So it's a short term
problem . It's a medium term problem
and it's a long term problem . So I can
tell you what we're doing today as it
applies to adjusting our posture . Both
of places we operate from the
amount and position of forces where we
put it is important , uh , that power
in a place that matters with the right
capabilities today is the deterrent
factor . Combine that with the
exercising operations with our allies
and partners presents a pretty good
deterrent force today on the capability
side in the mid and longer term . I
appreciate the department's support for
some of the asks and I highlighted a
couple of them in my statement . Right .
So the operator the ability to operate
in contested state space consistently
and survive , oblique as you
highlighted in your statement , uh the
ability to have persistent battlespace
awareness of all things going on . I
guess we kind of know that part . The
question is , what does that mean ?
Okay , so to do that , we need to build
this and not build that . We need to
develop this technology , we need to
develop that technology . What's what's
gonna survive in that environment ?
What do we need to put our money in ?
So that that happens . Yeah .
Integrated and resilient , sustainable
I . S . R . Capabilities uh network
that links all of that together and
displays it for all forces on the
battlefield in a consistent way . And
then ultimately , the ability to close
those kill chains with the correct
weapons and fires . Yeah , Thank you .
Doctor uh Mr Chairman . The only thing
I would add is um in addition to the
capabilities that Admiral Aquilino
mentioned , we're working to update
operational concepts as you know , with
the joint warfighting concept a more
distributed force posture uh and then
building our allies and partners into
our deterrence frameworks as well . So
basically we need to make sure we don't
have a few big rich targets . We need
to have , you know , sort of redundancy
spread out survivable systems so that
no matter what china does , we can
continue to communicate and continue to
operate . Yeah , I would say that the
characteristics of the force that I
described in my opening opening
statement are the ones that drive the
capabilities , investments , lethality ,
resilience , sustainability ,
survivability and and being agile and
responsive . Exactly as you describe .
Mr Chairman in your opening statement ,
Thank you mister Rogers , I thank you .
Mr Chairman general uh never did get
the answer to the chairman's question ,
Who won the election ? Or do we know
the results when I came in here
congressman ? I it's too close to call
right now . So it sounds familiar .
Yeah , we've had that problem around
here for a while . You talked about
the stepped up testing uh by North
Korea . How does the maturing North
korean missile capability affect your
posture ?
Ballistic missile defense is is a top
top priority protection . Making sure
that Admiral Aquilino just brought up
on the , you know , I . S . Are you
know , typically we say I . S . R . Is
one now , but to me it's three verbs um
and making sure that we can see into
what he's doing and can we um get after
a kill web interdict , prevent it from ,
you know , from striking South Korea or
striking any U . S interests in the
region . Do you have adequate s are in
your opinion ? Currently I do the
challenge right now . Is is placement
and access given the comprehensive
military agreement between the Republic
of Korea and and the DPRK when you look
at your posture and your
responsibilities . What is the one
thing that we could help you most with
in addressing capability issues .
And one of the things that I I'm always
mindful of is the huge number of rocket
launchers he has near Seoul and how you
would defend against uh , that
onslaught ? Yeah , there's two threats
to that . There's the conventional
threat is artillery , long range
artillery that can range soul from the
north and then his theory , ballistic
missile capability that he's developing .
So it's the patriot thad um and making
sure that we have the redundancy and
the resiliency and and the number of um
arrows . But to me it's more than just
trading arrows for arrows . We've got
to make sure that we can get after the
entire kill web to be able to get into
his systems and and I can provide a
much better um description of this in a
in a secure environment . I understand .
Well , we we need to know because we
want to give you what what you need .
So get it to us in whatever fashion you
need to um dr ratner , we need to
convince our allies and partners that
were in the pacific for the long haul .
I think that we on this committee
genuinely mean that how can we build
that credibility uh in the region , in
your view . All right , thank you ,
sir . Um I think there are a few
elements we can do to ensure that the
region believes that we're going to be
there for the long haul , primarily
many of those occur outside the
military domain . And certainly the
jurisdiction of the Defense Department
in terms of active diplomacy and an
active trade and Investment strategy
and leadership in the region . That's
probably the most important thing we
could do . But from a military
perspective , I think maintaining our
forward posture , continuing to invest
in our alliances and working with
partners on issues that are important
to them , not just issues that are
important to us or the right formula .
Great . And uh , admiral closing Red
Hill is going to impact your operations .
Can you tell me or kill this committee
how you intend to to address that
closure ? Thank you sir .
Absolutely . Uh , as we
looked and developed options for senior
leader decisions with regard to Redhill .
Again , we had three criteria that we
had to make sure we were getting right ,
number one clean water for the people
of Hawaii service members and their
families . Number two , we had to be
able to meet the war plan and the war
fighting requirements . And then third ,
we obviously always look at costs and
ensure we're good stewards of the
taxpayers money . We developed a plan
that actually goes in alignment with
how we talked about a more distributed
plan , both forward and land based
combined with a sea based component
to allow for a more distributed ,
Survivable , resilient network of fuels
as well as meeting all the security and
the strategic fuel reserve requirements .
So as we looked at this , I think we're
actually going to be in a better place
and we meet all three requirements as I
laid out what what timeframe is going
to be needed to make this transition .
Uh Congressman , I think we'll go uh in
coordination with all of the members
that are working this , that's the E .
P . A . The Hawaii Department of Health
and the Department of Defense . We will
go as fast as safe allows . We have to
make sure the facility is safe to
transfer that fuel into the places
we're gonna send it , but we're
certainly not waiting as soon as we can
get it done , we'll be ready to move
and as soon as we're able to contract
some of those other facilities as well
as the sea based option . So you're not
closing Redhill until you have this new
capability in place . Uh The we will
close red hole I think the Secretary's
announcement was within the year and
that just allows us to be able to
distribute that fuel with the contract
requirements , the sea based
requirements and the needs to the need
to put it in the correct spots . That's
my point though . I want to make sure
that you're gonna be able to to fuel
Euro plans when you close that
place . Yes , sir . We'll be able to do
it and we'll be able to do it fairly
quickly . That's all I have . Mr
Chairman . Mr Mr Larson is recognized
for five minutes . Thanks . Thanks
Chair Admiral . Earlier this year , the
army began developing and testing a
tactical cloud system that would be
deployed in the pacific region . Can
you in this setting explain why that
would be important for indo pacific
thanks , congressman . So first of all ,
the ability to make sure that our data
is safe , secure in a cyber environment
is critical , so that's one portion of
it . Additionally , it's gonna help to
support one of our primary initiatives
called the mission partner environment ,
which is the ability in a cyber safe
environment to share information with
all of our partners to be able to
coordinate events , operations
exercises through a single
communication mechanism . So really it
kind of comes down to the ability to
defend our information and our data .
So I want to build out from that for dr
Ratner . Um and how because this gets
to the importance of the tyranny of
distance , but also closing that
through secure communications among
friends and allies , building that sort
of using that hub and spoke model that
we use post World War Two to build out
our friends and alliances in the
pacific uh how do how are we only going
to assess what countries are , you know ,
earned their way into into this
communication network into this one as
well as any others that we're trying to
set up in that region . Thank you ,
Congressman Larson and Admiral Aquilino
may want to say another word on some of
the communications networks that he's
looking to build in the region ? I'll
just say we are in uh careful analysis
and consultation with our partners on
their information security , both
assessing them , helping them improve
and clean up their networks uh and and
moving in ways that are deliberate and
ensure that we're not building that
network so fast that it's going to be
compromised . So this is something we
take quite seriously . PRC penetration
of networks throughout the region is
quite severe . It is something we need
to manage . Thanks sir . So we're
obviously concerned about everyone's
networks our own and all of our allies
and partners . This mission partner
environment , you know , allows us to
work together with them to be able to
develop the maximum security that we
have access to and then align it with
all of our partners . So it's really
kind of a two wins here in this
objective . Let me take one more step
on this conversation . Dr Ratner
alludes to it . What china the PRC is
doing in the last several years . And I
think we've talked about this earlier
last year perhaps on a call reorganize
the P . L . A . To include their
strategic support forces which are both
network and in space , including cyber
and E . W . And a variety of other
things . So on this point , not to not
to tell us what's in the budget
22 years , I realized that would be a
waste of time to ask you before the
budget got here . Um would you , could
you generally say perhaps that the
budget uh investment reflects the need
to be responsive to the development of
the ssf and what it's doing , how pr
the P . L . A . Is using the strategic
support forces as well as getting ahead
of that as well as doing the
investments regardless of whether or
not the ssf existed .
Yes , congressman , without getting
into details about the budget . I can
assure you that uh the department is
very focused on these issues . We had
an opportunity earlier this week to do
a tabletop exercise with members of
this committee in which we focused on
specifically on some of these areas ,
including space and cyber . Uh and
you'll see in the Secretary's concept
of integrated deterrence , which
Admiral Aquilino mentioned part of the
rationale there is that we ourselves
need to be integrating across domains
including space and cyber as we think
about this competition . Just a little
time left . All right . Have you
if you can share this , given the
unprovoked Putin's unprovoked invasion
of Ukraine . Have you seen a change in
Russian forest posture in in the in
their east ? Thanks Congressman .
So , absolutely in preparation they
pushed out 20 ships and submarines as
we can count , they placed him in
defensive positions . They postured
other forces to be able to defend their
eastern flank . So we absolutely have
seen a change uh and we continue to
monitor those like we do every day .
All right thanks . I'm not gonna I'll
ask the question and take it for the
record , but it has to do with all
right , India's ambivalent role right
now relative to U . S . Security
interests With regards to Ukraine and
I'll develop something specific for for
the record . Thank you . Mr Thank you .
Mr Turner is recognized for five
minutes . Thank you . Mr Chairman . Um
Admiral . In your written comments , um
you reference of the United Kingdom
and joint um Um
exercises that were held with both the
us and others . And you also mentioned
that the F- 35 , I want to read to you
the provision that's here and I have a
question . Two questions with you . One
is can you tell us about partner
nations that are outside in dopey calm
that are assisting in the area and also
the role of the F 35 . You state that
the UK has demonstrated its immense
capacity to project combat power into
the region . Queen Elizabeth Carrier
Strike Task Group which included
embarked U . K . And U . S . Marine
Corps F 35 Bs . So I'm assuming that we
both had F 35 is that they there were
ships from both the Netherlands , the
United States . And then you also cite
um the acquisition by the Republic of
Korea for the F- 35 a could you tell us
of your work with other partner nations
and the role of the F- 35 in the area .
Thanks congressman . So , the
importance of the F 35 can't be
overstated . Right . So when we talked
in the beginning , uh , the PRC has
developed a set of systems of systems
in an attempt to keep the United States
out of the pacific uh , the F 35 from
the air domain is critical to be able
to operate In that contested space ,
that 5th generation airplane with the
highest technology available . You're
referencing china's J 20 . I'm
referencing our F 35 . But I mean
you're , you're , when you're talking
about china also as a , as a pure
threat in the area that you're looking
to their equipment as an additional
need for the F 35 . Yeah , absolutely ,
sir . So they have just begun
production of their J 20 their 1st 5th
generation airplane , which ups the
ante and again with the technology and
the capability of the F 35 . That's why
it's so critical as it applies to
uh , being able to operate in that
contested space that the technologies
that come with that airplane allowed to
happen and then joint exercises , you
referenced the UK and Netherlands . So
when we talk about integrated
deterrents , that's , that's a pretty
good example of one operation that
we've done . Uh , the UK is , you know ,
have built , uh , and have now deployed
one of their aircraft carrier strike
groups . Uh , we did an operation with
uh , seven nations , four big deck
ships , The Japanese provided one of
their large deck . Did he ages . Uh
the queen Elizabeth was there and as
well was the Ronald Reagan and the USs
carl Vincent . That was combined with
all of our domain capabilities in the
form of bombers , ground forces , cyber
capabilities , space capabilities . And
work together with seven nations , the
Netherlands , Australians , Canadians .
Ah Again , I think that the
friends and partners outside of the
region also understand the importance
of the region and we see them operate
with us . Hopefully more frequently the
french come to the region's you most
most recently read about the Germans
deploying to the pacific I'm hoping and
working to get more of that . Ah and
with those partners , we operate with
them all the time . Well , my next
question relates to exercises and also
with the Republic of Korea , the
General , you mentioned trying to get
people out of the area because of
restrictions with respect to exercises
as part of our 2021 India a we required
as part of the Pacific deterrence . An
actual plan to be provided us by your
your command , admiral . And in it it
listed exercises is one of the primary
focus and goals and also unfortunately
Includes information that um your
funding was cut for for exercises in in
2022 . I'm aware that um there have
been , I believe some over concerns
about the issues of provocation , of of
exercises when it's one of your primary
goals of exercises And we know our
partners that are are in the region
need exercises to be effective . Um
what are we doing to ensure that the
that we're able to conduct exercises in
the region and that we're investing
appropriately . Um and we're ensuring
that the Republic of Korea has the
ability to to exercise without an over
concern of being provocative in the
region . Then I'll let all three of you
answer that one . Thanks congressman
for the exercise . We do over 100 and
20 exercises every year . Uh Covid has
impacted some of those . We've scaled
some down . We've reduced over , we've
we've postponed some because of the
Covid piece . But bottom line is we
haven't reduced any of those exercises .
A matter of fact , when I met with the
Chiefs of Defense across the region ,
most recently in july , what we've
agreed to is actually to try to expand
those into more . Secretary . Do you
have concerns about exercises ? And the
reason Uh Congressman , I do share one
time's expired if you can finish in
about 10 seconds . Thank you . Uh I
would say I share Admiral Aquilino view .
I do have concerns about the readiness
of our forces on the korean peninsula
and I know that's something we're
working on . Thank you . Chair
recognizes Mr represent Courtney for
five minutes . Thank you rick and thank
you to the witnesses for being here
today , Dr Ratner . Um David Ignatius
has been sort of covering foreign
policy and military policy for quite a
few years . made the observation that
in terms of hard power , the Aucas
alliance with Australia and Britain is
the most important strategic move in
decades . And again , congratulations
to the administration for helping make
that come together the Response in
Australia as you . And I have discussed
this very positive , 60% approval in
public opinion polls . The government
announced just a few days ago that they
are moving forward for an eastern some
navy base on the eastern side of
Australia to compliment sterling ,
which is on the western side near near
Perth . So they clearly it's all in and
that's a long term . That's a long game
commitment that's there . And I know
Admiral caldwell at naval reactors is
hard at work with the transition . It's
a big job to figure out the industrial
based challenge , which is huge . But
in the meantime , I mean , there's
another piece of this which is , you
know , the helping the Australian navy
sort of make this transformation . And
it seems to me in a number of us that
um you know , having joint training at
the nuclear power school in south
Carolina for um Australian sailors and
officers would be , you know , we have
to do it . And why don't we start ? I
mean , it's a it's a good visible
tangible way to really show , you know ,
our allies in the world that this is
real , that it's it's not just a press
release , you know , back in september
I don't know if you're nodding
emphatically no . What's your thoughts
on that congressman ? It really is an
important step forward . I do concur
with that , but I do want to remember
that the submarine pieces , one portion
of it . Right . So we're cooperating in
other domains to expand our
capabilities , End capacities with the
Australians and the brits in the form
of space and cyber in the form of being
able to develop posture and operate
from there . And I'm gonna be in
Australia the week after next with
really great partners , General
Nakasone and General Dickinson to start
on that space and cyber improvement on
the submarine piece . As you know ,
they're studying the best way to go
forward . Big decisions and they want
to go about it methodically . I spoke
to General or Admiral caldwell last
night , we're on the same page as soon
as they're ready to start , Admiral
caldwell is ready to support with
regard to the start of schooling and
then we have options to be able to
bridge . Right , How do we operate
together ? Australians on us british
submarines . We're gonna work through
that . Uh , safety is clearly a concern
from Admiral caldwell , but we are
doing everything possible to move this
as fast as possible . Well , that's
good to hear . And again , I think
certainly this committee is gonna want
to do everything to enable the success
of that . And in terms of whether
there's it are issues or whether
there's again , McMahon act issues in
terms of just clearing any , you know ,
legal obstacles ? Um Admiral , you
talked about again , the pivot away
from Red Hill and the at sea component
I think sort of spotlights the
importance of sealift . Again in a few
hours we're going to vote on an omnibus
which adds 10 U . S . Flag ships to the
fleet . Uh bring it about 2 90 . And
again , these are not new construction .
These are used ships that are going to
be us flagged and and and with a
stipend enabled to do that . But I mean ,
it still seems like it's still a big
enterprise , you know , to to have that
disbursement , which I do think makes
sense . I mean , can you talk about sea
lift in terms of just it's sometimes
overlooked in the grand strategy
discussions ? Yes , sir . It's critical
to the the approach and the position to
be able to be more distributed uh in
many different locations , both ashore
and at sea . You're talking about the
sea based component of that . And I
thank the committee for the support
support for the TSP uh a great partner ,
General von Ost and her command
identified in a previous study that
there was risk with regard to the
number and access the US flag tankers .
This is a great step to start in that
direction . And again , I believe it
will contribute to the result and the
way forward on Red Hill . So it's
really important across all sea lift .
Not just fuel . Can you comment
on what c left means in terms of the
north korean peninsula ? Yes ,
congressman and their mark when I had
this conversation and when does up
strategic movement become operational
maneuver ? And at what point , you know ,
is he responsible for delivering to a
certain point ? That I've got to secure
it , bringing it in ? You know ,
there's tremendous capacity on the
peninsula right now . Um but for the
korean people , but we have to we're
gonna rely on Japan to bring supplies
in and and forces . We're gonna rely on
uh sealift and airlift to bring to
build our combat power for any crisis
or conflict . Thank you .
Mr landlord is recognized for five
minutes . Thank you . Mr Chairman . Uh
Secretary Ratner in the last N . D . A .
I offered language and the committee
supported it asking for a report on
asymmetrical defensive capabilities on
the part of Taiwan ground based anti
ship cruise missiles , ground based
cruise missiles and anti ship mines .
And I believe that that got caught up
in a larger report request that the
secretary is supposed to produce for
this committee . And um is that coming
along satisfactory ? Because the
importance of these reports is so that
we can make sure our industry partners
are producing these kinds of armaments
sufficiently and that their secondly
that they're getting into the hands of
our Taiwanese partners and friends . So
will that report be forthcoming soon
congressman , I'll have to check on the
exact timing of that report as you know ,
I was before this committee uh probably
about six weeks ago and did an in depth
classified briefing on Taiwan in
particular . And we discussed uh these
each of these capabilities in depth ,
the department is extremely focused on
ensuring we can get these in the hands
of the Taiwan's as quickly as possible .
And I'd be happy to in advance of the
report to provide your office with with
any additional information . Okay ,
fantastic . Thank you so much . Admiral
Aquilino . There is a lot of concern by
many of us about hypersonic weapons and
how china Russia and even north Korea
are doing what they can in this area .
What are your concerns about their
progress and what do we need to do
better on our part . Thanks Congressman .
Uh So the real concern is the speed and
pace at which they're showing up as you
articulated . Ah So that's the issue
that we have security challenges
that are working towards capabilities
that are challenging . We're getting
after it through my number one unfunded
requests as articulated was a defensive
Guam system for to get right after this
issue . Now it's it's complex . We're
coordinating with the department but we
need to be able to defend . Both are
people right defend the homeland to
protect Secretary's number one priority
as well as the forces and where we
place them to be able to operate . Now .
You mentioned Guam . Um and you said in
your posture statement that Guam's
strategic importance is difficult to
overstate . Can you elaborate on that
please ? Absolutely , Congressman .
The area in the indo pacific is
expansive half the globe
and a lot of it water . So to be able
to posture forces in places that matter
with the right capabilities . We
focused on Guam as a strategic hub as
you would expect . Senator or
excuse me . Governor Guerrero is a
wonderful partner and a patriot And as
you know , it's about $11 billion
dollars worth of construction as we
work through posturing of our forces
that will end up on Guam . So we have
to protect it .
And lastly , can you enlighten us
regarding the department's progress and
this is for Secretary Retina , the
department's progress and
prioritization of missile defense
funding for Guam . Yes ,
congressman . The department is
currently in the final stages of the
missile defense review which will lay
out strategy and priorities and that
should be forthcoming alongside the
National Defense Strategy . Hopefully
in the coming weeks . Okay , thank you .
That's all I have for now . Mr Chairman ,
I'll yield back to you . Thank you . Mr
Keating is recognized for five minutes .
Thank you . Mr Chairman uh question
just two days ago UK's Foreign
Minister . Liz Trust said to Parliament
there in in London that ah the
reason that India abstained in the U .
N . Recently on the vote about Russian
aggression was both economic and
defense oriented . Could you enlighten
any of us as to why what areas of
defense she could have been alluding to ?
And what is your opinion on how India's
inability to you know , vote at the un
in favor of condemning Russian for the
aggression . How that could be defense
oriented on their part .
Sure . Thank you congressman . I can I
can start on that and there was a
reference earlier to to this issue as
well . Um What I would just start by
saying is that uh from the US
perspective , I think India is an
absolutely essential partner as we
think about our strategy in the indo
pacific and both in terms of how we're
building our coalition partners as well
as dealing with potential adversaries .
We recognize that that India has a
complicated history and relationship
with Russia the majority of their
weapons they buy from the Russians .
The good news is that they are in a
multi year process of diversifying
their arms purchases away from Russia .
That's going to take some time . But
they are clearly committed to doing
that including increasing the
indigenous indigenization of their own
defense industry . And that's something
we should support . So I think in terms
of the overall relationship and in
terms of the their relationship with
Russia , the trend lines are moving in
the right direction . All right . You
know china has mentioned its investment
advancing their own technology . I'm
particularly interested in unmanned
underwater technology that they might
have . Uh can you talk to us about uh
what they're doing and what you think
we should be doing to expand our
footprint in this kind of technology .
Thank you , congressman as we've
watched . All right . This is the
largest military build up that we've
seen since World War two coming out of
the P . R . C . And that includes all
domains . Ah It also includes all types
of technologies . Congressman moulton
and I had a conversation yesterday
about some of those . So we shouldn't
be surprised to see them advancing
their unmanned capabilities in all
domains . When we continue to watch it ,
we'd have to have additional
conversations at a classified level .
But is it an area that we ourselves are
stepping up the game on ? We
absolutely are . As you know , we've
been leading the path for unmanned . I
think I saw the Cno last week talked
about a fleet that includes both manned
and unmanned . As you know , we already
operate global hawks , predators and
other types of unmanned domains . So
it's a it's an opportunity for us that
we have to continue to explore and
expand . Thank you again . Mr Chairman
for having this important hearing . And
I yield back . Thank you . Mr Whitman
is recognized for five minutes . Thank
you Mr Chairman and thank our witnesses
for joining us today . And we're
actually no , I want to go to you and
um go back a year when Admiral Davidson
was here . Um uh as your predecessor
and he talked about the erosion of
strategic deterrence in that region and
how incredibly important that is to
make sure we keep the chinese at bay .
I know that you spoke about the battle
force as it exists today with the P . L .
A . Navy , approximately 350 ships and
submarines and more than 100 and 30 of
those are major surface combatants .
You also spoke about They're having a
fleet of 420 battleships by 2025 . And
I'll add that a . d . o . d . says that
by 2030 the P . L . A . Navy probably
has about 460 ships . That is
very very different than the course
that we are on with the number of ships
that we have . And it's not just the
number of ships that were building ,
but it's also the elbow is , you know ,
operational availability for the ships
that we have many times . Maintenance
availability is extended or time at sea
extended . So we're wearing our ships
out faster because we're double pumping
them on deployments from your
perspective , if we're unable to
accelerate the fielding of new vessels
and maintaining the vessels that we
have to have a a high level of a
sub oh operational availability , what
do you think will be the primary risks
going forward in the next five years in
indo pay calm . Thanks Congressman . So ,
you know , you highlight one of the
challenges and things were watching
very closely is the expansive and
growth in both capability and capacity
of the security challenges in the
region as it compares to ours . So let
me start by saying we still have the
world's greatest navy , we need to
maintain and keep that advantage ah
and there's a variety of ways that you
can get to it . The cno again , just
the other day talked about the unmanned
capacity and how does that plug in with
regard to the S abo uh you know ,
through the global force management
system , we are operating through a
supply based model that supply based
accounts for the sustainability in the
near mid and long term aspects . So
we've operated in that construct uh and
we have to continue to watch the
capability and capacity differences
to take that a step further . Not just
US capability and capacity and presence
in the Asia pacific but also the
ability for us to leverage much more in
depth relationships with friends and
allies in the region . That's a big
place , lots of things to do if we
don't have friends that can help us in
certain ways are risk calculus
becomes much much more complex in order
to place that risk on the chinese ,
giving your perspective about what you
think that we need to be doing . And
I'd love to hear dr Ratner's thoughts
on this about how we work with allies
to a greater extent . Like Japan like
Vietnam like Australia , we know Aucas
and you talked about that agreement but
I wanted to get a sense about how do we
do that ? And then how do we get to the
point where we are not just having that
relationship on paper , but that has to
be manifested in how we operationalize
that agreement . How do we jointly not
only operate but train together at the
highest levels so that something does
happen . It's not , well , let's figure
out how we communicate in those sorts
of things . Give me your perspective on
that . I concur sir . So you don't
surge trust and you don't just come
together and operate . But what we're
trying to do Again over 120 exercises a
year and all of the chiefs got together
and are discussed in our discussions .
The intent was , Hey , we need to
increase complexity of these to be able
to be interoperable , inter dependable .
Some examples . We just finished
teenage with the Japanese , uh , my
partner , General Yamazaki and I met
every day for 10 days in coordination
with our forces . Really important ,
Very high end uh huh As we sit here
today right now , the , the army and
the Marine Corps are both on the ground
in the Philippines and in Thailand to
do Cobra gold and balik aton , those
relationships are solid . We're about
to do rimpac in a couple of months ,
the largest maritime exercise on the
planet , I think over 27 nations coming
together . And again , we've increased
the complexity every year . That , so
those are the big ones on the small
front . Every day we come together . If
we come in contact with our allies and
partners , the direction I've given the
team is we are going to ensure we can
quickly come together , be instantly
interoperable and then work together at
any point at any time . That's the
approach we've taken , DR Ratner ,
congressman . I'll just say we
obviously have a very wide spectrum of
partners , some of which we operate at
a very high level others which have
less than I do apologize and once time
has expired , we try to move on . I
should have said that up front , even
if you're still in the middle of
question five minutes is the limit we
move on to the next member , so we'll
have to take that last piece of it for
the record . Mr Kim is recognized for
five minutes .