'Ruthlessly Expanding Its Power': Katie Porter Calls Out China Over 'Unlawful' Practices

8 months ago

At a House Oversight Committee hearing last week, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) spoke about

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00:00Ms. Porter of California next. Thank you so much. Republicans have told us today

00:06that China poses an existential threat to the United States. Their solution to

00:14that is to spend and spend and spend on fancy weapon systems, often built in

00:21their districts, that they hope will deter conflict. So now we have aircraft

00:26carriers, fighter jets, and tanks to fight a war, designed to fight a war that may

00:32never happen. But when Congress does that, what they are not doing is using our

00:39taxpayer dollars to address the problems that the Chinese Communist Party is

00:44actually causing. China is fighting every day to break international law and to

00:50expand its reach. Mr. Mattis, could you briefly describe China's claims in the

00:56South China Sea? They have an expansive claim called the nine-dash line that

01:05stretches well beyond any any recognizable feature and and under under

01:12the UN Convention the law of the sea of what would be recognizable territory. So

01:17do you believe this is an illegal claim? Whether or not I believe it's illegal is

01:22irrelevant because there's an international court that has decided

01:26that some of those claims are illegal. Okay, so I want to make that clear. China

01:28has taken an expansive, unlawful territorial claim to the South China Sea

01:34and they've ignored international law. This is a very, very clear and important

01:39example of China not playing by the rules, not following international law.

01:45And that behavior is causing real harm in people's lives, whether that's in the

01:50Philippines or in Vietnam. Mr. Mattis, can you briefly describe for us illegal,

01:56unreported, and unregulated fishing? It's exactly what you

02:04described it, but China, the PRC, has a particular role in this given that

02:08their deep-sea fishing fleet is far larger than any of any of the other

02:13countries. And because it is illegal and unreported, unregulated, it is also a

02:19nexus for forced labor. And those those ships have been violating the

02:27borders and exclusive economic zones of other countries, including

02:31in the Western Hemisphere. So I'm not quite sure how far you want to go, but

02:36that's perfect. So what we have is Chinese fishing fleets, they're using

02:41their fishing fleets to expand their territorial claims, their international

02:46power, to exert power over other countries. When they do this in Vietnam,

02:50they are attempting to essentially roll over Vietnam. They're just another

02:57country in the CCP's mind that is standing in their way of achieving

03:00absolutist power over regional and global commerce. So China's trying to

03:05bulldoze over Vietnam, including by stealing its fish, and they have

03:09largely depleted Vietnam's fisheries. What are the consequences to Vietnam?

03:15There's obviously the loss of economic revenue. There is the sort of

03:22impoverishment of local fishers. How does that help China? Well, one, most seafood

03:32is processed in the PRC, and therefore it sort of makes that makes Vietnam and

03:38other countries dependent upon that processed food.

03:44So I mean, look, China is ruthlessly expanding its power, breaking the rule of law, and

03:49the Chinese Communist Party calls this seeking strategic advantage, in part

03:54through what they refer to as the three warfares. General Spalding, what are some

03:59of the risks of China being successful in breaking international law

04:03without consequence? I think it emboldens everybody else to do the same thing, and

04:07I think that's the the challenge here. We've seen a complete breakdown in the

04:11liberal democratic order as a result. So, Mr. Mathis, does Vietnam have the

04:16military capacity to secure its exclusive economic zone from Chinese

04:21incursions? No. So Vietnam can't effectively safeguard its own resources.

04:27China's taking advantage of that, and China and the Communist Party are

04:31hurting people and breaking international law to become more

04:33powerful, and ultimately to expand their power in a way that will threaten U.S.

04:39interests in the long term. So what is the United States doing about this?

04:44Mr. Mathis, which U.S. agency protects global fisheries? Do you know?

04:50I believe it's a combination of the Coast Guard and NOAA, and as I recall, there is an

04:54initiative that was run by the NSC that was at the end of the Trump

04:58administration and carried through in the early Biden administration to take

05:03action on IUU fishing. So it's the Coast Guard. Do you know how many cutters the

05:07Coast Guard has in the Western Pacific? I'm gonna guess somewhere between zero

05:11and two. Yeah, five. Five cutters to protect roughly 40 million square miles.

05:20So, look, in Washington we have a gadget problem. Everyone wants the fanciest

05:25weapon systems, but to combat illegal fishing, to combat the influence of the

05:29CCP, all you need, you don't need stealth bombers, you don't need an aircraft

05:34carrier, you need is a relatively inexpensive Coast Guard cutter and

05:37funding for good Coasties who want to serve their country. That's the tools

05:42that we ought to be deploying today to counter Chinese influence. Thank you, Mr.

05:46Chair, for the extra time and I yield back.

05:48The gentlelady yields back.

'Ruthlessly Expanding Its Power': Katie Porter Calls Out China Over 'Unlawful' Practices

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