Chris Van Hollen

Thank you and Administrator Power and all your colleagues at USAID for the terrific work you are doing in this region.

I am not convinced that we are nailing down everything that we can there.

We are committed to using all means at our disposal to contribute to that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

There would be serious consequences for the entire world if such an event were to happen.

I think you have outlined clearly the case for why it is vitally important to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The United States of America is committed to maintaining that peace and stability, we support the status quo, and we oppose changes to that status quo by either side.

I am concerned that the Administration is sort of hoping this will go away or that a speech of grand principles will suffice.

I think there is broad agreement that the critical foreign policy challenge that we face and opportunity we have arises from China's emergence as a great power, a nation which is not playing by the rules.

It is essential, in my view, as we think about spending the money that Chairman Van Hollen has indicated that we spend it according to a comprehensive strategy that we have developed.

During the Cold War, Presidents Ford and Eisenhower and Reagan directed similar undertakings as we confronted the Soviet Union and I believe we should carry out the same type of strategic effort with regards to China.

The National Security Strategy laid out by President Biden and this Administration clearly establishes the goals and mission of our national security and foreign policy.

The United States seeks to promote peace, prosperity, and universal human rights through an international rules-based order grounded in freedom and respect for sovereignty.

We want to preserve the status quo. We will provide Taiwan with the military assistance and equipment it needs to make itself a porcupine, to deter aggression, and to defend itself.

I agree with Senator Ricketts that we do need to up our game in East Asia and the Pacific.

Thank you and Administrator Power and all your colleagues at USAID for the terrific work you are doing in this region.

Burma's military regime must be held accountable for the atrocities that they have committed and the violence that they have inflicted on the people of Burma.

I am not convinced that we are nailing down everything that we can there.

I think in a nutshell that is what the Washington Declaration means.

You cannot beat something with nothing and, obviously, the Belt and Road Initiative includes a number of infrastructure investments.

We cannot allow China to establish preconditions for the opportunity to talk to them.

I think you have outlined clearly the case for why it is vitally important to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

There would be serious consequences for the entire world if such an event were to happen.

We are committed to using all means at our disposal to contribute to that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The United States of America is committed to maintaining that peace and stability, we support the status quo, and we oppose changes to that status quo by either side.

When I talk about a grand strategy and as Senator Menendez does, we are talking about something far more comprehensive than just principles.