During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. James Risch (R-ID) spoke bout how the United States needs allies to counter the influence of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Today, America will hear from the President's nominees to be U.S. ambassadors to some of
00:04our most important allies.
00:08The threats we face from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are too big for anyone to
00:12face alone.
00:13I hope our nominees would agree that we need to be mutually beneficial with our friends
00:19like Canada, Mexico, and Japan, and that they will act on day one to make this happen, and
00:26it's incredibly important.
00:28Our first nominee, Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, has served the people of Michigan in Congress
00:32for nearly two decades and is ambassador to the Netherlands in President Trump's first
00:37term.
00:38Now as ambassador to Canada, Ambassador Hoekstra, you will work with a country that is not just
00:42a neighbor, but a NATO treaty ally and major trade partner.
00:47I look forward to hearing about how you will urge our Canadian friends to increase their
00:52military spending, which they acknowledge publicly that they need to do.
00:56They need to modernize the North American Aerospace Defense Command to meet the real
01:03threats that both of our nations face.
01:06Canada must show meaningful change and fulfill its defense obligations.
01:10Canada's low contributions are not as helpful to the collective defense, NATO's collective
01:18defense, as they can or they should be.
01:21Turning to Japan, Mr. Glass, you have an opportunity to further modernize the U.S.-Japanese alliance
01:26to ensure our countries are prepared to deter the long-term threats we face from China.
01:33President Trump's summit reaffirmed U.S. commitment to Japan's security, including through our
01:37nuclear umbrella.
01:39Our alliance is rock solid.
01:41To build on this foundation, we need to prioritize the important economic and security relationships
01:46the U.S. and Japan share with South Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
01:51Japan is stepping up its defense capabilities.
01:53Its decision to develop counter-strike capabilities is a key example of this.
01:58But like all our allies, Japan must do more to bolster its defenses.
02:02I hope that working with the Japanese to do this will be a priority for you.
02:07You also have a chance to strengthen our trade and investment relationships with Japan.
02:11We have some trade friction with Japan in my home state, in Idaho, that's been ongoing
02:16for a long time.
02:17Its market remains closed to our fresh potatoes, and we are not seeing progress.
02:21I hope you'll work with me to resolve this once you're confirmed.
02:25Finally, I'm pleased to welcome back Ambassador Johnson, who has served the United States
02:28government for over four decades, most recently as the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador.
02:33As Ambassador to Mexico, you'll face a unique set of challenges that are critical threats
02:38to U.S. national security.
02:41All of us are seriously concerned about the role of Mexican cartels in the manufacture
02:45and trafficking of lethal narcotics like fentanyl, and of course, in illegal immigration.
02:52These criminal activities pose unprecedented and direct threats to American families.
02:57Every state in America is truly a border state.
03:00President Trump's designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, his enforcement
03:04of security at the border, and the vigorous enforcement of U.S. immigration laws to protect
03:10domestic security is to be thanked for and praised.
03:16Thanks to these policies, under President Trump, we are seeing historically low illegal
03:20immigration numbers for the first time in decades.
03:23Ambassador Johnson, I hope you will work with the Mexican government to further combat illegal
03:27immigration, put a stop to drug trafficking from Mexico, and promote peace and stability
03:32in the Western Hemisphere by encouraging Mexico to do more to counter China, Russia, and other
03:37malign countries.
03:38The impending review of the USMCA will provide some opportunity to do this, and I hope you'll
03:44seize it.
03:45Thank you to all of our three witnesses for being here today.
03:49If confirmed, you'll have big jobs ahead of you.
03:51I look forward to working with you to improve these important bilateral relationships as
03:55we work to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.