Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee - U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Forces Korea in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2016 and the Future Years Defense Program

Hearing

Good Morning. Let me join Senator McCain in welcoming our witnesses.

Gentlemen, we appreciate your long years of faithful service and the sacrifices you
and your families have made for our Nation.

On Tuesday, we had an interesting hearing on some of the challenges we face
in the Asia Pacific region. The consensus from that hearing was that we face some
serious challenges in the region, especially in light of China's increasing military
budget and destabilizing activities in the region. One of the biggest challenges will
be to continue to provide stability and security in the region, as the United States has
for the last 70 years, given our own shrinking defense budget.

Admiral Locklear, I would like to hear from you about some of the disturbing
reports of land reclamation activity by China in the South China Sea, and what our
strategy is to ensure freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce through
important sea lanes. What more should we be doing to build the capacity of our
partners and allies coast guards and navies to help them with their maritime domain
awareness and to encourage all of the regional actors to seek legal instead of lethal
solutions to their sovereignty claims?

North Korea has been and remains one of our most difficult national security
challenges. Last week, NORTHCOM Commander Admiral Gortney stated that
North Korea "has the ability to put a nuclear weapon on a KN-08 and shoot it at the
homeland." North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons and pursuit of
intercontinental delivery capabilities pose serious and growing security challenges.
General Scapparrotti, I would like to have a frank discussion about the threat posed
by the North Korean regime, what influence China might have on that regime, and
what North Korea's intentions are with regard to its nuclear weapons program.
Additionally, I would like to know how the possible deployment of a THAAD
ballistic missile defense system will contribute to the defense of the Republic of
Korea.

Of course, we must consider all of these challenges and initiatives in the AsiaPacific
against the backdrop of our current budget constraints. Admiral Locklear and
General Scaparrotti, we'll be interested in your assessments of the budget reductions
on your ability to meet your mission requirements. Again, we appreciate you joining
us this morning and look forward to your testimony on these and other topics.

Source