Tammy Duckworth Demands US Involvement To Combat China's 'Debt Trap Infrastructure Projects'

3 months ago

Prior to the Congressional recess, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) questioned Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell about US involvement in Southeast Asia, and competition with the PRC.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:03Good morning, Deputy Secretary Campbell.

00:05It's so good to see you again.

00:07I've really appreciated that over the course of our relationship, we've been able to be

00:12quite candid with one another, particularly as I reflect on when I think the United States

00:17has missed its mark on its past engagement.

00:20So I want to ask you today to think critically about where we can improve our efforts.

00:25And I think we can look outside, you know, outside the Indo-Pacific to make these assessments

00:30when it comes to our strategic competition with the PRC.

00:33But I also think there are cases within the Indo-Pacific.

00:36For example, I just got back from Laos and Vietnam, where I was the first U.S. senator

00:40to visit Laos in 15 years.

00:43And I found a country hungry for U.S. presence.

00:48And I found a country littered with debt trap infrastructure projects that they will never

00:53be able to pay back, crumbling roads that were built with borrowed money to the tunes

01:00of billions of dollars that are not generating any revenue.

01:04And yet I saw so many opportunities.

01:06Something as simple as I went out and visited an ADB, an Asian Development Bank, project

01:11where they help local villages next to major natural resource tourist sites build a whole

01:20place where people can go swimming in these beautiful lagoons and they get over 500 visitors

01:26a day at each of these sites.

01:29And in talking with them, they said, you know, the only when we have problems with tourists

01:33in the lagoons getting into swimming trouble and they're about to drown, it's the American

01:37tourists are pulling them out because American tourists have lifeguard training, many of

01:41them, and first aid training.

01:42And it would be great if somebody could provide us with lifeguard training and we would pay

01:46our young people and they wouldn't have to move to the big cities or leave the country.

01:50And something as simple as that, brainstorming with our ambassador to try to find funding

01:56for simple U.S. lifeguard training, which they would love to have.

02:00Low cost, high impact, really good projects that could happen.

02:04And so I think, you know, in order for the United States to be seen as a credible, reliable

02:08partner and provide an alternate choice of the PRC where we don't have a strong track

02:13record of security relationship, we need to at least be showing up, right?

02:17Things like this lifeguard training or some of this.

02:21But I also think that there was an opportunity for capacity building in public health, in

02:26particular.

02:27So can you tell us something about how the U.S. approach with partner nations in a public

02:31health space and other areas like this can build trust and enhance our presence in the

02:35region beyond, you know, we rely too much on security and defense, I think.

02:40So first of all, Senator, let me just thank you.

02:43You have been a voice that has consistently asked for more engagement of the United States

02:49in ASEAN and specific countries.

02:51And I would also say I'm grateful that you raise cases of small countries like Laos and

02:57Cambodia.

02:59There's a tendency sometimes to think that these countries are just in the Chinese orbit

03:05and that's that.

03:06But the truth is that when we set up the first ASEAN summit, which you were a key backer

03:12of two years ago, when we brought all the ASEAN leaders to Washington, it was difficult

03:18to get agreement among all these nations to come.

03:22The two nations that were quietly some of the strongest voices in having that happen

03:28were Laos and Cambodia, because they too want options.

03:31They want a deeper relationship.

03:33I love the idea of lifeguards.

03:36Anything that you think we could do that, you know, high impact, I'm all ears for.

03:45I'm going to go back to the building right now and see what's possible.

03:48I will say this, Senator, our greatest thing in Southeast Asia is that we engage ASEAN

03:55as an institution as well as individual countries.

03:58I think we've done very well in Vietnam.

04:00We've done very well in the Philippines.

04:04I think we've engaged effectively in Indonesia.

04:11But I think we could do more in a number of countries, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

04:17And I want to thank you.

04:18You in particular have pushed us to do more.

04:21I think we have a few things that we'd like to do in this arena as we approach the end

04:26of the Biden administration.

04:27So I completely accept the proposition and am always looking to do more for our friends

04:36and partners in Southeast Asia.

04:37Wonderful.

04:38I am almost out of time.

04:39I would love to be able to meet with you and talk with you a little bit about some of these

04:42initiatives later.

04:43Done.

04:45And also the Pacific Island countries.

04:46I'm glad that Congress finally funded and renewed COFUS, the COFUS agreement.

04:51Thank goodness.

04:52You've got to give yourselves a bigger pat on the back than that.

04:54Let's be clear.

04:55In a period of unbelievable division, one thing got through.

05:00The COFUS agreement, after 20 years, a negotiation was really hard, was passed by the Senate

05:07and the House.

05:08A huge, huge achievement.

05:10Made a big impression on our countries in the Pacific.

05:14So you should not dismiss that.

05:16That was a big act of legislative leadership and helped us enormously.

05:20We are doing much better in the Pacific than we were three years ago, and that's largely

05:25because of the urging and support of this committee.

05:28An expansion of more of our consular activities in the region would be really helpful.

05:32You touched on it earlier.

05:34We're doing this.

05:35Senator Risch and his team have urged us, look, the restrictions on new buildings and

05:41how to build stuff and stuff is hard and difficult.

05:45We've sought exceptions.

05:46We are actually working with other like-minded countries that we can put our diplomats at

05:51their facilities.

05:53We need to do more in the Pacific.

05:55This is like we have moral, historic, strategic reasons.

05:59We are doing more.

06:00We are better.

06:01We're working with our allies and partners.

06:03Ultimately, we've got to be able to represent ourselves.

06:07These island nations are proud.

06:10They've been with us for decades.

06:12They vote with us.

06:13We should not take them for granted.

06:17Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Tammy Duckworth Demands US Involvement To Combat China's 'Debt Trap Infrastructure Projects'

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