The Public Record
Jim Webb is a former United States Senator from Virginia, serving from 2007 to 2013 as a member of the Democratic Party. Born on February 9, 1946, Webb has had a diverse career as a politician, author, and filmmaker. He is known for his focus on issues such as veterans' affairs, education, and economic opportunity. During his time in the Senate, he was a vocal advocate for the recognition of Virginia's Native American tribes, emphasizing the importance of federal acknowledgment for their contributions and rights.
Well, wouldn't you agree that one of the reasons that Burma hasn't made that choice is that they've had sanctions on them, and once sanctions were lifted--for instance, in Vietnam, once the trade embargo was lifted in 1994, it enabled a…
I again reiterate that I think this is a major opportunity for United States-China relations.
I believe the movement toward resolution in that part of the world could give China a major opportunity to demonstrate that it can assume some leadership.
I've held two hearings on sovereignty issues, different kinds of sovereignty issues, both of which, I believe, we really could benefit from a more overt participation from the Chinese.
China is one of the few countries in the world that does not recognize riparian water rights downstream.
I think that it's incumbent upon the Ambassador and other American Government officials who operate in China, whether it's from our Embassy or even visiting Members of the Congress, to take advantage of those different mechanisms of talk…
We talk about human rights. 'Human rights' is something of an amorphous term...
We're very, very deeply concerned about transshipment of weapons systems material from North Korea to other parts of the world.
Vietnam is one of the most important countries in terms of our relationships in this part of the world.
The State Department issued a public statement the day after we heard that Dr. Vu had been sentenced. We stated in that release that we were deeply concerned by the sentencing and we called for the release of Dr. Vu.
We would be remiss if we did not recognize that there has been dramatic improvement in this area over the years.
We are very sympathetic in this regard to Vietnamese concerns, and we will be watching, very closely, in the run up to the next Mekong River Commission meeting how this decision plays out.
This is, indirectly, a sovereignty issue. Water, that is the availability of water in that region, can become a national security issue too if one country or another decides they can shut water off.
I have been among those here who are very concerned about what is happening in the Mekong River Delta.
I personally have had strong concerns over many years about territorial claims in the South China Sea by the Chinese.
I have spent a great deal of my adult life, as you know, trying to build bridges so that we could move it forward.
Certainly it is the view of the United States that that kind of upstream/downstream communication needs to be enhanced and improved.
That's a debate for another time, and as long as I'm in the Senate I would be happy to participate in it.
I believe it's a negative for us to be an occupying power in that part of the world.
We tend to focus on the crisis of the moment... rather than on conclusively ending ongoing commitments that were not intended to be permanent.
Politicians like Jim Webb
