During a House Armed Services Committee hearing held before the congressional recess, Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-IL) questioned Military officials about the Trump Administration's response to growing aggression by North Korea.
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00:00Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Sorensen.
00:05Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning.
00:07Welcome to our witnesses, Mr. Ngo, Admiral Papereau and General Brunson.
00:12Thank you for your insights, for your leadership as we face a new realm in the Indo-Pacific.
00:18I'd like to first take a minute to acknowledge Taiwan, both as a democracy and a strategic ally.
00:25While we work to boost our own domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities,
00:29we must ensure that Taiwan is able to contribute to our supply chains.
00:34Working together to develop new technology and innovation means that we work together to make both of us secure.
00:41That means that we must also remain steadfast partners in the region as China continues to develop its offensive power.
00:48Mr. Ngo, I'll begin with you.
00:50Last week, President Trump announced that he would impose a 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods.
00:55I don't know if that number has changed in the past 15 minutes or not.
00:58If we hurt the Taiwanese economy, how can the administration demand that Taiwan spend more on its own defenses?
01:10Congressman, the department is working to prioritize our security assistance to Taiwan.
01:17Currently, we're leveraging the different tools we have at our disposal, whether that's PDA, FMF, FMS, or TSCE, the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative.
01:29Arming Taiwan and strengthening Taiwan's defense capabilities is extremely important for not only the defense of Taiwan,
01:37but for strengthening our posture and reestablishing deterrence.
01:41So we're moving quickly to do that and we're committed to doing so.
01:45So what I'm hearing from you is there is 100 percent connection between Taiwan and the United States with this relationship?
01:52Congressman, the future of Taiwan does matter to American interests.
02:01Admiral Papereau, in your written testimony, you mentioned how critical our European allies like the UK and France are to security in the Indo-Pacific.
02:09How important is the all of the above approach to keeping the region secure?
02:14Congressman, the more partners and allies that demonstrate that they have concurrence on the security interests of the world,
02:27noting that the world globally will be highly, if not completely, affected by conflict in the Indo-Pacific.
02:35And when a partner demonstrates their expression of will by putting key capability in the Indo-Pacific,
02:42it confers more legitimacy and more leverage on the cause that the Taiwan Strait matter shall not be changed by force.
02:54I appreciate that.
02:56Mr. Ngo, I want to go back to the discussion on North Korea.
03:00Besides strengthening our force posture in the region,
03:03how is the Trump administration planning to address North Korean aggression?
03:07And will President Trump be sitting down with Kim Jong-un?
03:12Congressman, on your last question, I cannot speak for the president on whether he will do so.
03:19But I will focus on and explain to you what the department is doing.
03:23North Korea poses a serious threat, not just because of its nuclear arsenal,
03:28but due to its development of missiles that are capable of targeting not only our allies in the region,
03:36but also the United States homeland.
03:38So we will continue to work with our South Korean allies,
03:43and of course, General Brunson and our team at USFK,
03:47to make sure we have a strong deterrence posture to deter the North Korean threat.
03:53Both the Admiral and the General have mentioned in their testimonies that North Korea is seeking Russia's help
04:00in developing more advanced satellites and drones, missiles and submarines.
04:03Mr. Ngo, what is being done to prevent coordination between Russia and North Korea,
04:08especially since we've just found out the news yesterday that we have Chinese fighting alongside Russians against Ukraine?
04:15Congressman, I'd be happy to have this discussion more in depth in a classified setting.
04:23Happy to follow up there.
04:25Okay, we'll do that and I'll yield back the balance of my time.
04:29gentlemen.
04:30gentlemen.