Steve Chabot

The United States did not even have an embassy in the Solomon Islands and I think this really does exemplify a far too lackadaisical approach over the years to the region.

The consequences for the people of the Pacific shouldn't be underestimated.

There's no question, and I think you pointed this out in your opening statement, that China has designs on the Pacific Island and we need to be very concerned about that.

It's very important that we pay a lot more attention to the Pacific Islands than we traditionally have.

It's critical for us countering China.

China is way, way more engaged with a number of these island nations than we are.

The U.S. needs to become much more engaged with this region.

While it goes without saying that the Pacific Islands are strategically important, it's critical that Congress and the administration maintain focus on the interests that we share with this region.

America is a reliable and lasting partner—and that is particularly challenging in the wake of Afghanistan.

Going forward, getting our partnership with Southeast Asia right is going to be absolutely critical.

But I would note for the record that both candidate Trump and candidate Hillary Clinton both said that is what they would have done if they won.

I just want to clarify for the record, the previous questioner accurately stated that President Trump pulled out of TPP.

The term 'shooting ourselves in the foot' comes to mind. And we put the PRC in a position where they are now trying to get in there and write the rules to replace the United States.

The most important issues for us to address with our ASEAN partners are those stemming from great-power competition, from trade rules to sea lanes and even the sanctity of their own sovereign territory.

The relationships we share with this critical region are too often overlooked in the foreign policy chatter inside the Beltway here.

As the former chair of this subcommittee and the co-chair of the U.S.-Philippines Friendship Caucus, along with my good friend Bobby Scott, as well as the Cambodia Caucus, I always appreciate giving Southeast Asia the time and attention…

We relied upon the Taliban to be our security. In essence, we ended up getting 13 of our military personnel and over 150 Afghan civilians killed by relying upon the Taliban.

How is this not a debacle of monumental proportions?

Had the President not followed through on the commitments that his predecessor made, those attacks would have resumed.

President Biden has laid the blame for the evacuation debacle in Afghanistan on others rather than on itself.

We certainly relied upon it at the airport. It did not work out so well.

This administration's bungled pullout from Afghanistan just may be the worst foreign affairs disaster in American history.

They have a long way to go and yes, I hope we can work together, but I hope it is not lip service that we are receiving from our allies in the future.

In order to be successful in our effort to have our principles prevail rather than their principles, which is authoritarianism and not rule of law and not human rights and on and on, we are going to need to work together.

They are not trying to hide it, their goal to impose their authoritarian model of governance on the rest of the world.