{"id":397235,"date":"2023-08-29T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=397235"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"Guam-hearing-focuses-on-Pacific-s-importance-in-countering-PRC","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/Guam-hearing-focuses-on-Pacific-s-importance-in-countering-PRC\/","title":{"rendered":"Guam hearing focuses on Pacific\u2019s importance in countering PRC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>WASHINGTON, D.C<\/strong>\u2014Delegate Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-A. Samoa) took part in an international field hearing of the Committee on Natural Resources on Aug. 24 in Guam, led by committee chair Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), examining the importance of the U.S. Pacific Territories and the Freely Associated States to the United States\u2019 ability to counter the People\u2019s Republic of China\u2019s malign influence, and maintain national and allied strategic interests in the region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe held this unique hearing in Guam as a committee because Guam and [the] CNMI are northern keystones in the free and open Pacific. We are determined to keep the vast Pacific free and open, as it has mostly been since 1945, even as we stood for decades against Soviet imperialism,\u201d said Radewagen. \u201cNow, standing together, we are facing the threat of the once-concealed, but now overt, velvet-gloved hand of PRC ambitions that hides the iron fist of PRC totalitarian, communist imperialism. The United States is also part of the southern Pacific where American Samoa\u2019s alignment with the U.S. is foundational to helping maintain this free and open region with our nation\u2019s allies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, the committee formed the bipartisan Indo-Pacific Task Force\u2014with Radewagen and Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) as co-chairs\u2014to examine Congress\u2019 role in deterring the aggression of the People&#8217;s Republic of China in the regions, including the Pacific territories and FAS. As a part of the task force\u2019s work, last week\u2019s hearing elaborated on the robust discussions that have come up during these task force meetings.<\/p>\n<p>The hearing, titled \u201cPeace Through Strength: The Strategic Importance of the Pacific Islands to U.S. Global Security,\u201d included the following expert witnesses testifying in two panels:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gov. Lourdes \u201cLou\u201d Leon Guerrero of Guam;<\/li>\n<li>Gov. Arnold I. Palacios of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands;<\/li>\n<li>Finance Minister Kaleb Udui, Jr. of the Republic of Palau;<\/li>\n<li>Acting Foreign Affairs secretary Ricky Cantero of the Federated States of Micronesia;<\/li>\n<li>Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Jack Ading of the Republic of the Marshall Islands;<\/li>\n<li>Vice Speaker Tina Barnes of the Guam Legislature;<\/li>\n<li>World War II survivor Irene Sgambelluri of Talofofo, Guam.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>During their time in Guam, members of Congress met with Leon Guerrero, members of the Guam National Guard, and received high-level briefings from military officials on the island. Members also met with local officials and heard from local business leaders about the challenges they face. Recent actions by the PRC have shown increasing aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Guam has been targeted specifically as Chinese vessels come near its shores and the military installations face cybersecurity threats.<\/p>\n<p>The field hearing was a chance to hear from community stakeholders and local leaders in Guam about how their community, and the Pacific Islands, is uniquely at risk from PRC aggression. Members also learned from experts in the field on how America&#8217;s military superiority can keep this aggression at bay.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGuam&#8217;s importance to America&#8217;s national security cannot be overstated. Less than 2,000 miles away from here lies a threat to freedom and self-determination in the People\u2019s Republic of China under the ruling Chinese Communist Party. The CCP not only seeks to challenge American leadership but is also aggressively working to undermine the democratic values and institutions that we hold dear. The recent PRC hacks in Guam show that Guam is on the frontlines of the fight against this threat. It was an honor to be here in Guam to hear from local leaders and communities and to celebrate America&#8217;s unrivaled military strength in the Pacific,\u201d said Westerman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is certainly a historic moment for Guam, as we have not had a congressional hearing on island for more than a decade. The fact that the House Natural Resources Committee has approved the request to conduct one is certainly significant, as it places Guam on the congressional map when it comes to priorities. Our team has worked hard to ensure our issues are addressed, and having members physically see and hear our concerns first-hand will certainly go a long way. Guam\u2019s proximity becomes even more valuable to the United States of America with the rise of concerns coming from the Chinese Communist Party. There have been numerous instances where they have tested their limits with Guam by hacking into the infrastructure of American military bases, operating their warships near our waters, and the illegal entry of Chinese nationals embarking on our shores from the CNMI. I want to thank my colleagues in Congress for recognizing Guam&#8217;s importance and seeing us as a community, not merely an island with military installations,\u201d said Delegate Jim Moylan (R-Guam). <strong><em>(PR)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 480px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/imgupload\/1e9a75906f52ce3045b9f0e7c0de5d9d.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/p>\n<p>The Committee on Natural Resources, led by committee chair Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), holds a field hearing last Aug. 24 in Guam.<\/p>\n<p>-CONTRIBUTED PHOTO<br \/>\n<br \/><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON, D.C\u2014Delegate Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-A. Samoa) took part in an international field hearing&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-397235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397235\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}