BOISE, Idaho – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement on reports of the Chinese navy injuring Australian divers with sonar pulses near Japan:
“China’s latest provocation on the high seas, this time directed at Australia, is more than risky operational behavior. It is an act of aggression undertaken in international waters. This brazen act occurred a week after Xi met with Australia’s Prime Minister, and only days after President Biden touted the restoration of our military-to-military communication after his meeting with this dictator.
“China is not going to stop these risky and aggressive naval and air maneuvers, and no amount of military confidence-building and communications mechanisms is going to change that. Putting any faith in these mechanisms with Beijing breeds false confidence that only puts U.S. and allied militaries at further risk. Lines must be drawn and enforced.”
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