WASHINGTON, D.C. – Wednesday, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), the second-ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, discussed the importance of maintaining America’s alliances in the Indo-Pacific. Ricketts focused on how America’s key alliance with the Philippines has helped deter Communist China. During the hearing, Senator Ricketts said the following:
“Since the signing of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, the Philippines has been one of our key allies in the Indo-Pacific. However, in recent years, the alliance has grown both more important and even more key as far as our strategic alignment. Despite being outmatched militarily and economically, the Philippines has demonstrated incredible resolve in resisting Beijing’s unlawful aggression in the South China Sea,” Ricketts said. “It [the Philippines] is also able to act as an important voice within the ASEAN against Communist China’s other pressure campaigns as you all have been talking about. But most important is what the alliance provides us militarily… and the expansion of the EDCA bases and the 9 strategic sites that they’ve given us access to to enhance our ability to deter Communist China in the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea and other key theaters.”
Ricketts made the comments in a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The hearing was entitled: “Shared Threats: Indo-Pacific Alliances and Burden Sharing in Today’s Geopolitical Environment.” The Committee heard testimony from Victor Cha, President of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at CSIS; Oriana Skylar Mastro, Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; and Randy Shriver, Chairman of the Board of the Project 2049 Institute.
