Rep. Waltz Questions Top Military Officials on INDOPACOM Posture

I recognize the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Waltz, for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And we've had some discussion on this committee, a lot of debate, actually, on whether this conflict or conflict with the PRC is inevitable. And I would just comment to my colleagues that Chairman Xi has said that reunification with Taiwan, one way or another, including the use of military force, just said it to the 20th Party Congress, is inevitable. He said that he's not going to pass it on to the next generation, basically said he's going to do it on his watch. So I think we've got a lot of wishful thinking going on, just like we had wishful thinking going on in the run-up to Ukraine, that force won't be employed. And with that context, Admiral Aquilino, thank you so much for your hosting of various congressional delegations. It's been incredibly informative. Thank you as well, General LaCamera. And one of the key takeaways I continue to take is the ambiguity amongst our allies from these trips, key allies, allies that if we don't have use of their airspace, of their ports, of their basing, that I don't see how we effectively come to the aid of the defense of Taiwan. And so I guess my question for you is, would greater clarity on our end, on the US's end and our intentions, help drive clarity with our allies? And I'll just tell you one quick anecdote. In this last trip and in previous trips, we've been asking our allies, will you help us in the defense of Taiwan, should it come to that? And the continual pushback is, well, when you tell us what you're going to do, we can make the tough political decisions what we're going to do. So again, do you think clarity on our end would help allied clarity, much like it has in Europe? Thanks, Congressman. Again, I'm not the policymaker, but what I can tell you is, for the past 40 years, the policy has been successful. That's just historically accurate. I think you'd have to ask the allies and partners. What I hear when I talk to them frequently is that war is not desirable for anyone in the region. Of course. So as that applies, what I read into it is, they are supportive of our approach. They recognize that we're looking to prevent this conflict, and that's what's keeping us together. Right. But in the event that deterrence fails, like, of course, it's poverty is not desirable, war is not desirable. Got it. But in the event that deterrence fails, as it has in Europe, you have to have those basing and overflight rights, right? Whether it's Japan, Philippines, we can go down the list. You have to have those operationally, correct, as operational commander. Yeah, the need for access and basing and overflight as well. Can you assume today, tomorrow, in the near future, that you have them? We don't assume. Those are choices of sovereign nations whenever the time comes. And I think it's reasonable, then, to say, if the United States was clear we're coming to the defense of democracy in Taiwan, then it would drive clarity in the region. So, I mean, clarity in Europe, for example, has deterred Putin in many ways from going beyond Ukraine. So would clarity in the Pacific help you having that basing and access? Yeah, I think we'd have to ask the allies and partners, Congressman. I don't want to speak for them. And I'll just tell you another concern of mine, which we've talked quite a bit about, is clarity here amongst the American people. And one of the lessons that the PRC has learned from Ukraine is, if they decide to do it, they have to do it quickly. We can't decide here in Congress where the bathrooms are quickly. And so I think we need to have that debate now, not when amphibious ships are being loaded. Secretary Royal, why does Admiral Aquilino have a $3.5 billion unfunded list? Things like the defense of Guam, the defense of Hawaii, secure communications. Why if this is the number one threat, according to multiple administrations, as the man sitting next to you may be responsible for the greatest conflict in American history, have $3.5 billion out of a $850 billion budget that you can't find to support that warfighter? Congressman, first thing I'll say is there is no daylight between Indo-Pacific Command and the Department of Defense. There should be no unfunded priorities for our number one threat. When we think about the prioritization of the region, there's absolutely no daylight between us. We prioritize and they're fully- Just in the interest of time, why does it take two and a half years from congressional notification to contract award for harpoons for Taiwan? Two and a half years. Why? Congressman, I'm happy to follow up with you specifically on the harpoon discussion if that's helpful to you, the contracting. We have to move more quickly. If the theme of today is we're running out of time. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.