U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at a hearing on U.S. military posture and national security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
Chairman Rogers' remarks as prepared for delivery:
Today we continue our posture hearings with INDOPACOM and U.S. Forces Korea.
I want to thank our witnesses for being here and for their service to our nation.
The Indo-Pacific is home to the greatest threat we've faced in generations. In North Korea, we have a mad man who would rather build an illegal nuclear arsenal than feed his starving people.
The world has sat by while Kim has lobbed ICBMs over his neighbors, rebuilt his nuclear testing facility, and expanded his inventory of warheads.
Last week's announcement that North Korea tested a solid-fuel ICBM is the latest in extremely troubling news.
It eliminates the time-consuming liquid fueling process, making it much harder for us to detect the missile and neutralize it before launch.
That's why it's so imperative for us to invest in missile defense and accelerate the Next Generation Interceptor program.
A strong missile detect and defeat capability is also critical in our deterrence of the Chinese Communist Party.
We've talked a lot this year about the growing threats we face from the CCP.
• They've tripled defense spending in a decade;
• Rapidly modernized and expanded their conventional forces.
• Made unprecedented advancements in space, hypersonics, AI, and quantum computing;
• And increased the number of launchers, missiles, and warheads in their nuclear arsenal at a dizzying rate.
The CCP's extraordinary military build-up is certainly concerning.
But what's most alarming is the increasingly provocative actions Xi has taken in recent years.
• Pushing out China's borders with new defense agreements and military bases in foreign nations;
• Illegally building militarized islands and trying to limit freedom of navigation in the South China Sea;
• Threatening our allies in the region when they work with us;
• Cozying up to Putin, the Ayatollah, and other tyrants;
• And attempting to coerce Taiwan with military exercises simulating a blockade and invasion of the island.
It's gotten to the point where Xi's foreign ministry is now seeking to intimidate the Speaker and other Members of Congress just for supporting democracy and self-determination for the people of Taiwan.
This is not how responsible nations behave.
Especially not nations armed with nuclear weapons.
We have no choice but to take Xi's threats seriously.
And we have to be resolute in our response.
• We need to accelerate our own military modernization.
• We need to enhance training and readiness in the region.
• We need to better distribute logistics throughout the Pacific.
But we won't prevail in any conflict with the CCP on our own.
• We need to expand and strengthen our partnerships in the region;
• We need to better arm our allies with agreements like AUKUS.
• And, we need to expedite the delivery of arms and training to Taiwan so they can better defend their democracy.
But most importantly, we need to take action now.
China is not going to give us 10 or 20 years to prepare for conflict.
We simply cannot procrastinate further.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on their assessment of these threats and what support they need from this committee to deter them.
