Highlights From My Recent Congressional Delegation

Statement

Friend-

As Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, part of my role is to meet with key stakeholders across our great nation and the world to stay informed on national security issues and assess the needs of our Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. This August I had the privilege of leading a Congressional Delegation trip with Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) to key Pacific allies including: India, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and our U.S. territory of Guam.

Our Delegation met with senior civilian and military leaders to assess military readiness across service branches while learning about threats and opportunities in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

In the Indian capital city of Delhi, we met with Foreign Secretary, Dr. S. Jaishankar, Defense Secretary Sanjay Mitra, and the Director General of Naval Operations, Vice Admiral SN Gormade to discuss our nation's growing military and economic relationship. Afterwards, we traveled South to Mumbai where we met with Admiral Luthra, Commander of India's Western Naval Command and we discussed regional security involving China and were given a tour of the INS Chennai--one of India's newest destroyers. After traveling to Taiwan, the Delegation met with President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Dr. David Tawei Lee and reaffirmed the United State's steadfast commitment to Taiwan's national security.

In light of escalating tensions with North Korea, we met with military officials to consider all tools at our disposal to deter hostile behavior from North Korea and work towards peace in the region. While in South Korea, we were the first Congressional Delegation to visit Yeonpyeong Island, which was bombarded by North Korean artillery and rockets on 23 November 2010--killing 4 and wounding 15 South Koreans. Afterwards, we traveled to the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea where we received a briefing on the current state of affairs with North Korea and toured various facilities and lookout posts. After returning to the United State's Army Garrison at Yongsan Seoul, the delegation met with United State's Forces-Korea Commander Vincent K. Brooks and received an overview of Exercise Ulchi-Freedom Guardian and discussed needed policy and resource needs. The annual exercise is built around defensive operations to include command-and-control drills and is crucial to maintaining readiness, both with Korean partners and state allies. Such joint exercises allow the Republic of Korea-United State's Alliance to remain strong and continue its long history of deterring aggression on the Korean Peninsula.

Following our visit to South Korea, we traveled to Tokyo where we met with newly appointed Ambassador William Hagerty and received briefings from the Embassy country team on a variety of topics to include ballistic missile defense, military to military relations, and the economy. Following the Embassy visit, we traveled to Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, were we met with the 7th Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Sawyer. His staff briefed the current operational picture in the 7th Fleet area of operations followed by a discussion regarding the loss of 17 sailors from the tragic collisions involving the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain. I saw firsthand the damage suffered by the USS Fitzgerald and expressed my determination directly to Admiral Sawyer that the underlying causes of these twin accidents be uncovered and addressed promptly.
We wrapped up the trip in Guam, following North Korea's latest missile test, by visiting Andersen AFB where we met with the deployed members of the 28th bomb wing from Ellsworth AFB. Our Delegation received operational briefings detailing how the B-1's long range strike capabilities were being used to deter North Korean aggression-- emphasizing Guam's strategic role in providing security for the region.

Below you'll find some more highlights from the trip.
It's an honor to serve you and Virginia's First District in the People's House.

Sincerely,
Rob

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