To realise its vision of a free Indo-Pacific, the Trump Administration will have to deal with the challenges presented by a rising China, a nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs said today.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Randall Schriver said that the US needs to look for opportunities to work with China wherever American interests overlap.
"We must also recognise that their aspirations, their vision for the future security architecture of the Asia- Pacific region with China at the centre is, in many ways, at odds with our own aspirations," he said.
"The challenges posed by a rising China are probably the most consequential challenges of my generation," Schriver told the Committee, when top American Senators expressed concern over rapid militarisation of China.
"For this administration's vision for a free and Indo- Pacific to be realised we also have to deal with the rising challenges presented by China," he added.
Senator Jack reed said that while the US must work together with China to counter a nuclear threat from North Korea, it should also work to counter China's attempts to "bully its neighbours in the region" and its failure to abide by the rules-based international order from which it has benefited so greatly.
Observing that ensuring a safe, secure, prosperous and free Indo-Pacific region is a top priority for the United States, Schriver said if confirmed, he will work to continue efforts not only to deter conflict, but also to deter coercion as sovereign countries in the Indo-Pacific region have the right to make decisions freely.
"The Administration is rightly focused on ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region, while also addressing specific challenges, such as those posed by North Korea, managing a rising China and its increasingly assertive attempts to undermine the rules-based order, building stability in South Asia, and confronting the scourge of terrorism wherever it emerges," he said.
Noting that China's growing economic power lends it a position of influence in the Indo-Pacific region, Schriver said the US must insist that China use its influence for common good.
"We will not accept Chinese actions that undermine the rules-based order. If confirmed, I will assess the effects of China's growing influence in the region, including on the US security posture, to ensure we are able to maintain the presence and posture that have underpinned US security guarantees, and in turn, regional peace and prosperity for decades," he said.
China's aggressive and destabilising behaviour has caused countries in the Indo-Pacific region to look for continued US leadership, he added.
Upholding freedom of navigation and overflight globally is essential to the economic and national security interests of the United States and all nations in the international community, Schriver said.
He alleged that China is using its cyber capabilities to support intelligence gathering against the US diplomatic, economic, and defense industrial base sectors that support US national defense programmes.
The information targeted could potentially be used to benefit China's defense industry and high technology industries.
"I believe the theft of intellectual property through cyber means is a clear threat to the economic prosperity from which in large measure the nation derives its national security.
"Any State that engages in the theft of our intellectual property through cyber means jeopardises both our national security and economic prosperity," he said.
John C Rood nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy said that China is a long-term strategic competitor, engaged in a rapid, comprehensive military modernisation process.
China's military reforms seek to enhance its ability to conduct joint operations and improve its ability to fight high-intensity regional conflicts at greater distances from the Chinese mainland.
China's global interests are growing, and its military will increasingly be called upon to safeguard China's trade, investments, and citizens abroad, he said.
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