Pete Ricketts Asks Witness About Importance Of Collaborating With The Philippines To Counter PRC Presence

2 days ago

During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) spoke about increasing cooperation with the Philippines to offset Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.

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Transcript

00:00Great, thank you Mr. Chairman and thank you to our witnesses here today to talk

00:04about this very important topic. You know, since signing of the 1951 Mutual Defense

00:09Treaty, the Philippines has been one of our key allies in the Pacific. However, in

00:14recent years the alliance has grown both more important and even more key as far

00:20as our strategic alignment. Despite being outmatched militarily and economically,

00:25the Philippines have demonstrated an incredible resolve in resisting Beijing's

00:31unlawful aggression in the South China Sea, certainly more recently. It is also

00:37able to act as an important voice within the ASEAN against Communist China's

00:40other pressure campaigns that you all have been talking about. But the most

00:45important is what the alliance provides us militarily. And Mr. Shriver, you were

00:49talking about the expansion of the EDCA bases and the nine strategic sites that

00:54they've given us access to to enhance our ability to deter Communist China in

00:59the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and other key theaters. It's also allowed

01:04us to deploy the Taifan missile system, which can hold land-based targets and

01:08China at risk, as well as surface ships. How important is it for us to continue

01:16to work with Manila to expand U.S. access to these sites and further invest in

01:22infrastructure and housing for U.S. troops? Mr. Shriver. Thank you. I think

01:29it's extraordinarily important, and if you kind of racked and stacked in the

01:32region, I would put the Philippines right at the top of where we need to invest,

01:36given its geography and given a window of opportunity. You know, the last

01:40administration in Manila under President Duterte wasn't exactly user-friendly, if

01:46you will. Marcos has been a sea change and really more of a return to the norm,

01:53but a sea change nonetheless, and I think we should take advantage of that. And

01:57frankly, the population, given Chinese aggression and coercion, is also very

02:04much in support of strengthening U.S.-Philippine ties, and I think it's

02:07the time to make the investments that are needed. Great. And, you know, we

02:12were just talking about China's really aggressive position toward the

02:16Philippines and these gray zone attacks in the South China Sea. You mentioned

02:20some of the areas there. It's really, really valuable that Manila shows this

02:26defiance, isn't it, Mr. Shriver? It is. They're, of course, first and foremost

02:30responsible for their own defense, and I think they have done a very admirable

02:34job on these resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal, really resisting that

02:38Chinese pressure and coercion. So what else can we or Japan or Australia do to

02:45be able to support the Philippines as it resists this gray zone activity here

02:49in the South China Sea? Well, I think Chinese coercion is not limited to South

02:55China Sea, so I think pushback in the East China Sea, pushback in areas closer

03:02to Vietnam. It's a comprehensive approach that is led by the U.S. but joined with

03:07allies and partners will, I think, demonstrate to the Chinese that they've

03:11got a broader problem, that the country that signed UNCLOS and ratified it but

03:16does not honor it and acts outside it is going to face broad pushback. And then on

03:20point in the Philippines, I do think we need to resume our cooperation with the

03:24Philippine Coast Guard, which is now on pause because it's a state INL program

03:29and it's a law enforcement program. The Coast Guard is really on the front lines,

03:33not necessarily the Navy in every case. So I think there's a number of things we

03:38can do, and again, it's extraordinarily important. What about the cooperation

03:42between Japan and the Philippines? They've recently, you know, gotten some

03:46agreements together. What do you think about that? Very encouraging. I mean, if

03:51you looked at a map, Japan, Philippines, what's in the middle? It's Taiwan, and I

03:55think a lot of the security cooperation is oriented toward that major known

04:00contingency. But Japan is also stepping up with security assistance, so we are no

04:04longer the sole provider or only provider of military equipment and other

04:09training and other types of services. Japan is a very professional military

04:13and they're lending that expertise to the Philippines in very helpful ways.

04:17I think we've provided about 500 million dollars last year in FMS to the

04:21Philippines, and obviously it's encouraging to see Japan do that as well.

04:24And you were also talking about, you know, the percent of GDP that the Philippines

04:29is spending and valuing, you know, the bases and so forth. Is it fair for us to

04:34ask the Philippines to get to 2% of GDP spending on their own defense? I mean,

04:39they are trying to modernize here. I'm for being aspirational, and I think given

04:45the threat they're facing, it's reasonable to ask. I think those

04:48discussions, that's why we need skilled diplomats, that's why we need

04:52capable alliance managers with years of experience. I agree, there are some

04:56approaches, as Dr. Mastro pointed out, that can have negative effects, and so I

05:01think we need to do it with a degree of deftness, but it is important. Do the

05:05Philippines have that kind of capability? I mean, can they economically support 2%

05:09of GDP, do you think? The short answer I would say is yes, but it is a very robust

05:18democracy. They have a lot of other priorities when it comes to the

05:21development of the economy, so this would be grinding it out through the

05:25legislature, but I think they could get there given the threat and the very

05:28real requirements they have for defense. Great, thank you Mr. Shriver.

Pete Ricketts Asks Witness About Importance Of Collaborating With The Philippines To Counter PRC Presence

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