Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Indo-Pacific region is of critical importance to the United States. It is home to some of our most urgent security challenges, our closest people-to-people links, and our strongest commercial and economic ties. The administration has recognized this priority in both the National Security Strategy document and the subsequent free and open Indo-Pacific strategy. The United States must adapt to new and emerging geostrategic realities and recognize the competitive nature of our relationship with China. The Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018, or ARIA, is a key component of this effort. It provides the administration with the direction and resources it needs for meaningful implementation of this free and open Indo-Pacific-Asia strategy. ARIA cements U.S. leadership in the Indo-Pacific region by reassuring our allies and deterring our adversaries. It strengthens our security commitments with our allies and builds the capacity of our many partners in the region to combat terrorism and to stop aggressive actors. The bill reaffirms longstanding treaty alliances in Asia with Australia, South Korea, and Japan, and it calls for building new regional security partnerships. It also expresses unequivocal support for Taiwan by authorizing new arms sales; supporting enhanced, high- level contacts with Taipei; and countering any efforts to forcibly change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.…”