WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered opening remarks at a hearing on the “U.S. Strategy in the Pacific Islands Region,” where he highlighted recently passed bipartisan legislation to support important partnerships in the region. He also encouraged his Committee colleagues to continue working collaboratively to address Beijing’s influence and actions.
“Congress recently passed, and funded, all three Compacts of Free Association and we are glad that COFA was finally enacted. For more than 40 years, COFA agreements have governed these critical relationships. The Biden Administration has called these COFAs ‘the bedrock of the U.S. role in the Pacific,’” said Chair Cardin. “I want to thank Senators Manchin, Barrasso, and Ranking Member Risch, for their bipartisan leadership getting COFA agreements across the finish line and signed by the President. I also want to acknowledge the leadership of Senator Schatz and Senator Hirono in regards to that agreement. I wish that same spirit of cooperation applied to our China bill and the Administration’s “Out Compete China” proposal which has been proposed again in this year’s budget.”
WATCH THE CHAIR’S OPENING REMARKS HERE
More information about the hearing is available here.
A copy of the Chair’s remarks, as delivered, have been provided below.
This hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will come to order. For thousands of years, Pacific Islanders have been masters of the sea, navigating oceans by canoe, guided only by the stars. With climate change and globalization hitting their shores, they have become innovators on how to save their heritage.
There are over a million and a half Americans of Pacific Islander ancestry. And over one thousand citizens from freely associated states serving in the U.S. armed forces. This puts people-to-people ties at the heart of our relationship to a part of the world that has been vital to the strategic interests of the United States. During World War II the U.S. Navy built an airstrip on what is now the nation of Kiribati.
But today, it is the People’s Republic of China that has plans to rebuild the former American airstrip. Beijing is signing policing deals to provide cybersecurity and community policing assistance in the region. Since the Solomon Islands changed their recognition from Taiwan to China, PRC nationals have moved to the islands; flooding the market with low-cost goods; extracting timber and fish and other resources; bringing in tourism practices that threaten the natural environment; in some cases—setting up transnational criminal operations that evade the limited capacity of local law enforcement.
All this compounds the forces that drive young people to search for economic opportunities elsewhere. Developments that are deeply concerning to the U.S. and our allies in the region like Australia, New Zealand and Japan. At the same time, Pacific Island nations are on the front lines of the climate crisis. Many are only a few feet above sea level.
This makes them particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events brought on by climate change. Not only does this mean many of these nations could be uninhabitable in coming decades, it presents a serious threat to important and sensitive American military installations.
Earlier this year, a series of extreme waves damaged a U.S. military base on the Marshall Islands, a base used as a space and missile test range for the U.S. Department of Defense with some of the Army's most sophisticated tracking equipment.
So I am pleased the Biden Administration has prioritized U.S. engagement in the region. Building new embassies is not easy, especially where land and domestic capacity is limited and ocean levels are rising. But I want to encourage the Department to be creative and to move as quickly as possible. Beijing will not slow down its efforts to gain influence in this important region—neither should we.
Congress recently passed, and funded, all three Compacts of Free Association and we are glad that COFA was finally enacted. For more than 40 years, COFA agreements have governed these critical relationships. The Biden Administration has called these COFAs “the bedrock of the U.S. role in the Pacific.”
I want to thank Senators Manchin, Barrasso, and Ranking Member Risch, for their bipartisan leadership getting COFA agreements across the finish line and signed by the President. I also want to acknowledge the leadership of Senator Schatz and Senator Hirono in regards to that agreement. I wish that same spirit of cooperation applied to our China bill and the Administration’s “Out Compete China” proposal which has been proposed again in this year’s budget.
U.S. competition with China concerns almost every single member of our committee, as well as most members of the Senate. I appreciate the staff on both sides getting us about 80% there. We now need to reach the finish line. But if we are serious about countering China, I ask the Ranking Member to work with me and every member of this committee to finish the job in the next work period.
I also want to thank our witnesses for appearing before us today. We have a distinguished panel of witnesses and I look forward to your presentations. I hope you will speak about how we can speed up the expansion of our diplomatic presence. How do we work with Australia, New Zealand, and Japan and others to support efforts to foster economic opportunities in the Pacific Islands? What can we do to climate-proof our military installations to defend our national security interests in the years to come recognizing the great risk there?
And finally, I’d ask you to lay out what is at stake for the U.S. military in the region if we fail to engage. I look forward to your testimony. With that, let me turn to the distinguished Ranking Member, Senator Risch.
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