Reed and Wicker Statement on SASC Indo-Pacific Briefing

Today, after the Senate Armed Services Committee received a briefing on the Department of Defense’s activities and policies related to the Indo-Pacific region, Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) and Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) released the following statement.

“Failure to maintain deterrence against China and North Korea would be catastrophic for American national and economic security. We appreciate Assistant Secretary Ratner and Admiral Aquilino’s courtesy and professionalism as they briefed Senate Armed Services Committee members in a classified setting about the growing threats from China and North Korea, efforts to strengthen and expand our network of allies and partners, and the Department’s work to improve U.S. force posture in the Indo-Pacific region,” Senators Reed and Wicker said. “Today’s sobering briefing provided evidence for why bipartisan efforts to tackle these challenges must be a top priority for our committee’s work. We need to innovate and develop new ways of fighting, while also procuring and deploying the assets required to project power in the region effectively, support our allies, and send an unambiguous signal of strength to regional adversaries at the speed of relevance.”