The nominee to serve as the next leader of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on Thursday cited passing the pending national security supplemental bill as “absolutely critical” to support for Taiwan and bolstering efforts to deter potential Chinese aggression in the theater.
Navy Adm. Samuel Paparo also agreed when asked during his confirmation hearing that passing the supplemental bill to continue providing weapons aid to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia would send a signal of assurance to Indo-Pacific partners on the U.S.’ commitment to support those in the region that may face coercive actions from China.
“Russian failure to achieve its aggressive actions [in Ukraine] directly aid[s] deterrence in the Western Pacific and directly reassures partners, our key strategic competitive advantage,” Paparo, the current commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The Senate’s $111 billion supplemental bill includes further aid for Ukraine and Israel as well as $2 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) funds for Indo-Pacific partners, which can be used to purchase U.S.-made military equipment.
“Taiwan itself is taking the lessons of Ukraine and they’re acting with dispatch and I have a great admiration for that. And [the funding in the supplemental] will directly aid deterrence in the Pacific with tremendous leverage,” Paparo said.
A procedural vote in the Senate to move forward on the supplemental spending package stalled out in early December, with the upper chamber having since focused on border security negotiations to gain additional Republican support for the legislation (Defense Daily, Dec. 6).
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Thursday discussions are “going well” to finalize the supplemental with the new border security provisions, with an aim to hold a vote on the bill by next Wednesday.
“Conversations are ongoing. Some issues still need resolution, but we are getting very close on the national security supplemental,” Schumer said during floor remarks.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the SASC chair, said Thursday that China is looking “very closely” at what the U.S. does with its support to Ukraine and asked Paparo if he agreed with a previous assessment from CIA Director Bill Burns that stopping support to Kyiv would “stoke Chinese aggressiveness.”
“Instead of seeing the Ukraine conflict and decid[ing] this is too hard, [China’s] intention on the other hand is to take note of the actions of Russia in order to effect a short, sharp fait accompli conflict that presents a fait accompli to all of the world,” Paparo responded, adding he agrees with Burns’ comments. “So rather than take the strategic lesson of the futility of aggression, instead [China] is doubling down on their ability to shrink strategic, operational and tactical warning and act quickly.”
Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, told reporters in early December the supplemental is key to ensuring the department has the appropriations in place to fulfill security assistance requirements for Taiwan, noting the FMF loans included in the package (Defense Daily, Dec. 5).