Transcripts For CSPAN Commander Of U.S. Southern Command Tes

Migration, and the humanitarian situation in venezuela. He also addressed china and russias influence in Central America. This is just over one hour. Welcome everybody. Navy Admiral Craig Faller will testify on the National Defense strategy, testifying before that the Armed Services subcommittee welcome to the admiral. Thank you very much for being here, sir. Todays hearing is a continuation of the committees efforts. This is an important component to our efforts to ensure our military is appropriately resorgsre resourced, equipped and postured to defend the nation against a growing away of threats. In europe and across the indo pacific region. The subcommittee has been focused on how those nations are increasingly challenging u. S. National security interests not just within their geographic boundaries but elsewhere around the world. Last year, the subcommittee held a hearing with leading experts to discuss chinas expanding interest in africa, it was made cheered clear during the hearing that china is taking a long term approach oftentimes with the goal of undermining the United States. The situation in the western hemisphere is no different. Admiral faller you highlighted in testimony earlier this year that china has accelerated expansion of its belt and Road Initiative in the western hemisphere at a pace that may one day overshadow its expansion in Southeast Asia and africa. Chinas efforts to back chinas Strategic Engagement in the south, region, bolsters china at the expense of regional stability. Chinas efforts to back oppressive governments and to such as the maduro regime and to , pump loans into local economies at unpayable Interest Rates reveal chinas interest in spreading influence and consolidating power. As a result, latin america has become a fixture for chinese ambitions. Utilizing economic coercion to grow support for chinese follett policy objectives [indiscernible] and the exclusion of the u. S. And canada from regional discourse. Trade and economic ties between the United States and latin america are changing with china surpassing the United States as the main destination for exports from several latin american countries. China is also deepening military and technological ties in the region. For example, we have seen space related cooperation in brazil, venezuela and argentina. China has increased arms sales in a manner that violations that violates u. S. And e. U. Restrictions and hinders our , ability to integrate with our strategic partners. Russia is also working to expand meanwhile its influence in the , region. The the putin regime seeks to erode u. S. Influence, and has doubled down on its efforts to prop up corrupt authoritarian regimes. In venezuela, cuba, and nicaragua, through economic and military assistance. For many years, putin has viewed latin american let america as a link in the chain. The deployment of a longrange bomber to the region highlight russias effort to strengthen its global reach. Just a couple weeks ago one of russias most advanced warships was docked in havana harbor. Finally, drivers of migration including violence, corruption, and poverty place significant , strain on regional governments and can engender regional instability impacting not only the southern border of the United States but providing additional flash points for china and russia to exploit at the expense of american soft power. All of this demonstrates clearly that the western hemisphere should be viewed as an important front in our efforts to compete with china and russia and implement the nds. I look forward to your input and your candid assessment of the involving Security Dynamics in this region. Describe how the nda information is important and how youll allocate south coms resources. As well as identifying challenges that may impair your ability to accomplish your mission. Thank you, admiral, for joining us today. I now turn it over for senator peters for your Opening Statement. Thank you madam chair for holding his hearing at a critical time. Events in latin america are often overshadowed by crisis in the middle east and south asia and asia. Stability in south comm is critical to our National Security. I want to thank admiral faller for his service and for appearing here to today to testify on the implementation of the National Defense strategy in the Southern Command area of responsibility. Its clear that russia and china have significantly increased their presence and their their influence in the south comm ar. ,hinese investment has grown including the belt and Road Initiative. China often engages in predatory lending practices that create debt traps for small countries and allowed beijing to yield outsize influence. Are oftents economically unsustainable, and many countries around the world have found themselves billions of dollars in debt, with no way to repay beijing. Russias economic influence in latin america is smaller than chinas. At its intentions are much more pernicious. Russias Propaganda Machine has been active in latin america, with efforts to raise doubts about the democratic process, and to sow discord in the region. Russias statecontrolled language Spanish Television station breads misinformation throughout the year region. And seeks to undermine u. S. Influence in the region. Russia is used cyber tax to attack democratic institutions. Csis reported that there have been 50,000 Cyber Attacks against columbias National Voter registry during that 2018 legislate elections. We have also seen russia covertly deploy crime and paramilitary groups to latin , using these forces to advance their Strategic Interests abroad, without having to admit that they have deployed any military personnel to assist the country. Russias intervention in venezuela has propped up the disastrous maduro regime and helped deny transition to the interim president guaido. This fits a pattern of increasingly aggressive russian seeking to use all of the tools in its play book to undermine the appeal of the democratic process and keep russian aligned regimes in power. While russia and chinese influence in latin america is destabilizing to the region, i think its also important to spend a few minutes on the most pressing threat to democracy in the western hemisphere. And that is corruption. Corruption is the root cause of mass migration, instability and impunity in Central America and , the trafficking of narcotics to our country. Unless our strategy focuses on solving the root causes of corruption, then no amount of Security Assistance dollars to latin america will be helpful. Concernedy i am quite that they Trump Administration has recently decided to cut off all nondefense usaid and state assistance to guatemala, hundreds, and el salvador, while allowing defense assistance to these countries to continue. President trumps stated rationale to punish these countries for the migrant crisis is ill considered and totally counter productive to reducing forced migration numbers. Ultimately it undermines our National Security in the region. Unless we support Civil Societies in these countries and help improve economic conditions, we will never get a handle on the illicit drugs that flow through these countries and into the United States. One final note and i think its critical for us to discuss is that corruption in central and south america not only destabilizes the region but it also provides china and russia with a foothold into these countries as well. Corrupt governments are more likely to take loans from china that allow them to skim millions off of the top and leave their treasuries empty. Russia is able to sell arms to corrupt governance that oppress their civilians and human rights. The more we focus on combatting corruption, the more successful we will be in implementing the National Defense strategy in the region. I think the chair again for this hearing, and look forward to the discussion. Sen. Ernst thank you Ranking Member peters. Admiral faller well start with your Opening Statement and then we will move into questioning. Thank you. Adm faller thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today and for the steadfast support you provide the men and women of the south Southern Command day in and day out. Id like to introduce my command senior enlisted Sergeant Major brian zik foos. Ive been in command of Southern Command for several months. These opportunities and challenges directly impact the security of this hemisphere, our neighborhood. Criminal organizations, narco trafficking, illegal immigration, violent extremists, corruption, are all enabled by weak governance. Most disturbing insight the aha for me however has been the degree to which the external actors china, russia and iran , have expanded their access and influence right here in our neighborhood. Or has the general put it, inside our interior lines. The National Defense strategy makes clear Great Power Competition has reemerged as the number one security challenge facing our nation. China, russia and others want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian models. Theyre blurring the lines of what constitutes a military threat through economic coercion, the systemic stealing of technology, influence campaigns and malicious cyber activity. They are contesting our military advantage in all of the traditional domains we fight around the globe, land, air, sea, space, cyber, and information. ,lus one more important domain values, like democracy, sovereignty, the rule of law, and human rights. Competition is happening globally and right here in our neighborhood, the western hemisphere. We see this most acutely in venezuela, where the security crisis created by maduro has compounded every single security crisis we face in this hemisphere. Where russia in their own words is predicting their loyal friend protecting their loyal friends, to quote by propping up , the regime with loans and technical and military support. Where china, as venezuelas largest single state creditor, saddled the venezuelan people with more than 60 billion in debt and is exporting Surveillance Technology used to oppress the venezuelan people. Iran has restarted direct flights from tehran to caracas. And reinvigorated diplomatic ties. Along with cuba these actors engage in activities that are profoundly unhelpful to democracy and regional stability, and counter to u. S. Interests. How do we counter the threats and seize the opportunities in this hemisphere . How do we counter the threats posed by external state actors in venezuela and across the region. The best way to outcompete is by focusing our strengths, the strong and enduring ties we have with our neighbors. And from a defense perspective, these are grounded in shared professionalism. We work with each other from a foundation of mutual respect. , human rights, and shared interests as well as interoperability. We reinforce and build on this through training, education, intelligence and information sharing and exercises. Security cooperation is our best tool to continue building these strong partnerships and turn the challenges of our hemisphere into opportunities. Working together training and exercising shoulder to shoulder with American Military professionals is our Competitive Edge and no one can match our system. We also need the right focused and consistent military presence day in and day out to go along with this training and education. We cannot achieve positive results and influence outcomes without being on the playing field. Ill point to two examples of the positive impact of our presence. Our Strategic Bomber force and f16 Fighter Aircraft from the South Carolina National Guard trained with a very capable Colombian Air force in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of colombias air and builds interoperability while also demonstrating our shared resolve in the face of , regional and global challenges. Nearby the United States naval ship comfort is comfort is in lima peru. Comfort shows the very best of the United States of america. In the strong partnerships we have in the world. Inis part of our efforts this hemisphere, to be a steadfast and reliable partner. This outcome team, our military and civilian members and families, appreciate the support of congress. We will continue to honor the trust you place in us and our fellow citizens place in us. I look forward to your questions. Thank you. Thank you, admiral. Ill start with just a couple questions and well go back and forth in order of arrival. With that well go ahead and get started. Feel free to take as much time as necessary, admiral, to discuss the challenges and opportunities you have in southcom. To start the National Defense , strategy clearly identifies Great Power Competition between the United States and of course china and russia as the most pressing threat to National Security. Given their expanding presence in your a. O. , the nds has particular relevance to your area of responsibility. So if you could explain what is the role of the u. S. Military as were competing with china and russia in the western hemisphere what more can we be doing . Is toller our focus build strong partnerships. 21 of 37 nations are democracies. So we focus on partnerships. That is the best way to outcompete china. Our partners want too work with us. It want the advantage of United States education training, exercises, and equipment. It is the best in the world. So its up to us to deliver that in a way that is relevant, and also in a way that provides a return on investment for american taxpayers. Colombia and brazil are two very good examples where we spent a lot of time, weve traveled to columbia on multiple locations, weve been to brazil, their chiefs of defense have been to see us. It begins with intelligence sharing and education at a milon to person level, at a level. We enhance each others situational awareness, strengthen our understanding of the opportunities and challenges, and work on education both in our schools and ours. Ive had the opportunity to go down there and speak at their institutions. Thats the foundation that counters russia and china best because frankly they cant compete with our system. Theyre trying. Theyre in the area. Everywhere i go the chiefs of defense say the chinese have come, theyve offered us free education, unlimited travel, opportunity to go to their schools. Theyve replicated our model. Theyve started Spanish Language training in beijing. The message i get from our capable partners is we dont want to train with them, we want to continue. So the best way is to be consistent. To offer the level of service and demand that the partners can meet. So we operate at their speed. And also ensure that there something that we get back. When you meet new chief of defense, for example the new chief of defense in el salvador and the new minister of defense, both have been to u. S. And graduated from u. S. Schools. The chief of defense, i think has been to five defense goals. And the minister of defense graduated from the Naval War College in newport. And theyre committed to working with us, not with others. Thats the way we move forward in a real meaningful way, senator. Sen. Ernst thank you very just to go a little bit further with that, i do firmly believe in those mill to mill opportunities whether through training exercises or through educational opportunities. Now, we have spoken, maybe you can expand a little bit on the lack of opportunity maybe that we have been able to extend to other military members attending our military schools. If you could talk a little bit about what some of those challenges are whether its funding or otherwise, it would be good to hear that. Adm faller the opportunities to expand our education in our schools and training in our schools, and there is a difference, is the single best investment we can make longterm to our partnerships. Graduates of our School Systems go back with an understanding of u. S. Doctrine, tactics and techniques and really become lifelong friends. The chief of defense in argentina, for example, is an honor grad of the Army War College and very proud of it and was just admitted to the Army War College hall of fame. And that fact is known by the Political Leadership and valued. Also one of my best strategic partners. Our levels of funding that have been provides and principal source of funding comes from the Central America<\/a>. This is just over one hour. Welcome everybody. Navy Admiral Craig Faller<\/a> will testify on the National Defense<\/a> strategy, testifying before that the Armed Services<\/a> subcommittee welcome to the admiral. Thank you very much for being here, sir. Todays hearing is a continuation of the committees efforts. This is an important component to our efforts to ensure our military is appropriately resorgsre resourced, equipped and postured to defend the nation against a growing away of threats. In europe and across the indo pacific region. The subcommittee has been focused on how those nations are increasingly challenging u. S. National security interests not just within their geographic boundaries but elsewhere around the world. Last year, the subcommittee held a hearing with leading experts to discuss chinas expanding interest in africa, it was made cheered clear during the hearing that china is taking a long term approach oftentimes with the goal of undermining the United States<\/a>. The situation in the western hemisphere is no different. Admiral faller you highlighted in testimony earlier this year that china has accelerated expansion of its belt and Road Initiative<\/a> in the western hemisphere at a pace that may one day overshadow its expansion in Southeast Asia<\/a> and africa. Chinas efforts to back chinas Strategic Engagement<\/a> in the south, region, bolsters china at the expense of regional stability. Chinas efforts to back oppressive governments and to such as the maduro regime and to , pump loans into local economies at unpayable Interest Rates<\/a> reveal chinas interest in spreading influence and consolidating power. As a result, latin america has become a fixture for chinese ambitions. Utilizing economic coercion to grow support for chinese follett policy objectives [indiscernible] and the exclusion of the u. S. And canada from regional discourse. Trade and economic ties between the United States<\/a> and latin america are changing with china surpassing the United States<\/a> as the main destination for exports from several latin american countries. China is also deepening military and technological ties in the region. For example, we have seen space related cooperation in brazil, venezuela and argentina. China has increased arms sales in a manner that violations that violates u. S. And e. U. Restrictions and hinders our , ability to integrate with our strategic partners. Russia is also working to expand meanwhile its influence in the , region. The the putin regime seeks to erode u. S. Influence, and has doubled down on its efforts to prop up corrupt authoritarian regimes. In venezuela, cuba, and nicaragua, through economic and military assistance. For many years, putin has viewed latin american let america as a link in the chain. The deployment of a longrange bomber to the region highlight russias effort to strengthen its global reach. Just a couple weeks ago one of russias most advanced warships was docked in havana harbor. Finally, drivers of migration including violence, corruption, and poverty place significant , strain on regional governments and can engender regional instability impacting not only the southern border of the United States<\/a> but providing additional flash points for china and russia to exploit at the expense of american soft power. All of this demonstrates clearly that the western hemisphere should be viewed as an important front in our efforts to compete with china and russia and implement the nds. I look forward to your input and your candid assessment of the involving Security Dynamics<\/a> in this region. Describe how the nda information is important and how youll allocate south coms resources. As well as identifying challenges that may impair your ability to accomplish your mission. Thank you, admiral, for joining us today. I now turn it over for senator peters for your Opening Statement<\/a>. Thank you madam chair for holding his hearing at a critical time. Events in latin america are often overshadowed by crisis in the middle east and south asia and asia. Stability in south comm is critical to our National Security<\/a>. I want to thank admiral faller for his service and for appearing here to today to testify on the implementation of the National Defense<\/a> strategy in the Southern Command<\/a> area of responsibility. Its clear that russia and china have significantly increased their presence and their their influence in the south comm ar. ,hinese investment has grown including the belt and Road Initiative<\/a>. China often engages in predatory lending practices that create debt traps for small countries and allowed beijing to yield outsize influence. Are oftents economically unsustainable, and many countries around the world have found themselves billions of dollars in debt, with no way to repay beijing. Russias economic influence in latin america is smaller than chinas. At its intentions are much more pernicious. Russias Propaganda Machine<\/a> has been active in latin america, with efforts to raise doubts about the democratic process, and to sow discord in the region. Russias statecontrolled language Spanish Television<\/a> station breads misinformation throughout the year region. And seeks to undermine u. S. Influence in the region. Russia is used cyber tax to attack democratic institutions. Csis reported that there have been 50,000 Cyber Attacks<\/a> against columbias National Voter<\/a> registry during that 2018 legislate elections. We have also seen russia covertly deploy crime and paramilitary groups to latin , using these forces to advance their Strategic Interests<\/a> abroad, without having to admit that they have deployed any military personnel to assist the country. Russias intervention in venezuela has propped up the disastrous maduro regime and helped deny transition to the interim president guaido. This fits a pattern of increasingly aggressive russian seeking to use all of the tools in its play book to undermine the appeal of the democratic process and keep russian aligned regimes in power. While russia and chinese influence in latin america is destabilizing to the region, i think its also important to spend a few minutes on the most pressing threat to democracy in the western hemisphere. And that is corruption. Corruption is the root cause of mass migration, instability and impunity in Central America<\/a> and , the trafficking of narcotics to our country. Unless our strategy focuses on solving the root causes of corruption, then no amount of Security Assistance<\/a> dollars to latin america will be helpful. Concernedy i am quite that they Trump Administration<\/a> has recently decided to cut off all nondefense usaid and state assistance to guatemala, hundreds, and el salvador, while allowing defense assistance to these countries to continue. President trumps stated rationale to punish these countries for the migrant crisis is ill considered and totally counter productive to reducing forced migration numbers. Ultimately it undermines our National Security<\/a> in the region. Unless we support Civil Societies<\/a> in these countries and help improve economic conditions, we will never get a handle on the illicit drugs that flow through these countries and into the United States<\/a>. One final note and i think its critical for us to discuss is that corruption in central and south america not only destabilizes the region but it also provides china and russia with a foothold into these countries as well. Corrupt governments are more likely to take loans from china that allow them to skim millions off of the top and leave their treasuries empty. Russia is able to sell arms to corrupt governance that oppress their civilians and human rights. The more we focus on combatting corruption, the more successful we will be in implementing the National Defense<\/a> strategy in the region. I think the chair again for this hearing, and look forward to the discussion. Sen. Ernst thank you Ranking Member<\/a> peters. Admiral faller well start with your Opening Statement<\/a> and then we will move into questioning. Thank you. Adm faller thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today and for the steadfast support you provide the men and women of the south Southern Command<\/a> day in and day out. Id like to introduce my command senior enlisted Sergeant Major<\/a> brian zik foos. Ive been in command of Southern Command<\/a> for several months. These opportunities and challenges directly impact the security of this hemisphere, our neighborhood. Criminal organizations, narco trafficking, illegal immigration, violent extremists, corruption, are all enabled by weak governance. Most disturbing insight the aha for me however has been the degree to which the external actors china, russia and iran , have expanded their access and influence right here in our neighborhood. Or has the general put it, inside our interior lines. The National Defense<\/a> strategy makes clear Great Power Competition<\/a> has reemerged as the number one security challenge facing our nation. China, russia and others want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian models. Theyre blurring the lines of what constitutes a military threat through economic coercion, the systemic stealing of technology, influence campaigns and malicious cyber activity. They are contesting our military advantage in all of the traditional domains we fight around the globe, land, air, sea, space, cyber, and information. ,lus one more important domain values, like democracy, sovereignty, the rule of law, and human rights. Competition is happening globally and right here in our neighborhood, the western hemisphere. We see this most acutely in venezuela, where the security crisis created by maduro has compounded every single security crisis we face in this hemisphere. Where russia in their own words is predicting their loyal friend protecting their loyal friends, to quote by propping up , the regime with loans and technical and military support. Where china, as venezuelas largest single state creditor, saddled the venezuelan people with more than 60 billion in debt and is exporting Surveillance Technology<\/a> used to oppress the venezuelan people. Iran has restarted direct flights from tehran to caracas. And reinvigorated diplomatic ties. Along with cuba these actors engage in activities that are profoundly unhelpful to democracy and regional stability, and counter to u. S. Interests. How do we counter the threats and seize the opportunities in this hemisphere . How do we counter the threats posed by external state actors in venezuela and across the region. The best way to outcompete is by focusing our strengths, the strong and enduring ties we have with our neighbors. And from a defense perspective, these are grounded in shared professionalism. We work with each other from a foundation of mutual respect. , human rights, and shared interests as well as interoperability. We reinforce and build on this through training, education, intelligence and information sharing and exercises. Security cooperation is our best tool to continue building these strong partnerships and turn the challenges of our hemisphere into opportunities. Working together training and exercising shoulder to shoulder with American Military<\/a> professionals is our Competitive Edge<\/a> and no one can match our system. We also need the right focused and consistent military presence day in and day out to go along with this training and education. We cannot achieve positive results and influence outcomes without being on the playing field. Ill point to two examples of the positive impact of our presence. Our Strategic Bomber<\/a> force and f16 Fighter Aircraft<\/a> from the South Carolina<\/a> National Guard<\/a> trained with a very capable Colombian Air<\/a> force in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of colombias air and builds interoperability while also demonstrating our shared resolve in the face of , regional and global challenges. Nearby the United States<\/a> naval ship comfort is comfort is in lima peru. Comfort shows the very best of the United States<\/a> of america. In the strong partnerships we have in the world. Inis part of our efforts this hemisphere, to be a steadfast and reliable partner. This outcome team, our military and civilian members and families, appreciate the support of congress. We will continue to honor the trust you place in us and our fellow citizens place in us. I look forward to your questions. Thank you. Thank you, admiral. Ill start with just a couple questions and well go back and forth in order of arrival. With that well go ahead and get started. Feel free to take as much time as necessary, admiral, to discuss the challenges and opportunities you have in southcom. To start the National Defense<\/a> , strategy clearly identifies Great Power Competition<\/a> between the United States<\/a> and of course china and russia as the most pressing threat to National Security<\/a>. Given their expanding presence in your a. O. , the nds has particular relevance to your area of responsibility. So if you could explain what is the role of the u. S. Military as were competing with china and russia in the western hemisphere what more can we be doing . Is toller our focus build strong partnerships. 21 of 37 nations are democracies. So we focus on partnerships. That is the best way to outcompete china. Our partners want too work with us. It want the advantage of United States<\/a> education training, exercises, and equipment. It is the best in the world. So its up to us to deliver that in a way that is relevant, and also in a way that provides a return on investment for american taxpayers. Colombia and brazil are two very good examples where we spent a lot of time, weve traveled to columbia on multiple locations, weve been to brazil, their chiefs of defense have been to see us. It begins with intelligence sharing and education at a milon to person level, at a level. We enhance each others situational awareness, strengthen our understanding of the opportunities and challenges, and work on education both in our schools and ours. Ive had the opportunity to go down there and speak at their institutions. Thats the foundation that counters russia and china best because frankly they cant compete with our system. Theyre trying. Theyre in the area. Everywhere i go the chiefs of defense say the chinese have come, theyve offered us free education, unlimited travel, opportunity to go to their schools. Theyve replicated our model. Theyve started Spanish Language<\/a> training in beijing. The message i get from our capable partners is we dont want to train with them, we want to continue. So the best way is to be consistent. To offer the level of service and demand that the partners can meet. So we operate at their speed. And also ensure that there something that we get back. When you meet new chief of defense, for example the new chief of defense in el salvador and the new minister of defense, both have been to u. S. And graduated from u. S. Schools. The chief of defense, i think has been to five defense goals. And the minister of defense graduated from the Naval War College<\/a> in newport. And theyre committed to working with us, not with others. Thats the way we move forward in a real meaningful way, senator. Sen. Ernst thank you very just to go a little bit further with that, i do firmly believe in those mill to mill opportunities whether through training exercises or through educational opportunities. Now, we have spoken, maybe you can expand a little bit on the lack of opportunity maybe that we have been able to extend to other military members attending our military schools. If you could talk a little bit about what some of those challenges are whether its funding or otherwise, it would be good to hear that. Adm faller the opportunities to expand our education in our schools and training in our schools, and there is a difference, is the single best investment we can make longterm to our partnerships. Graduates of our School Systems<\/a> go back with an understanding of u. S. Doctrine, tactics and techniques and really become lifelong friends. The chief of defense in argentina, for example, is an honor grad of the Army War College<\/a> and very proud of it and was just admitted to the Army War College<\/a> hall of fame. And that fact is known by the Political Leadership<\/a> and valued. Also one of my best strategic partners. Our levels of funding that have been provides and principal source of funding comes from the International Education<\/a> training. I met, that is state department funded. Thats basically been flat lined for as long back as i can do the math. They near dollars are getting us less school seats over time because the schools cost more than what we are able to contribute within the rules. Ive advocated and former defense secretaries have as well that we would be well served to look at increasing. For southcom its about 11 million. I think i could absorb 18 million, a modest increase. When you look at the kinds of monies were spending in other areas, this is a low amount of money for a high dividend. So i would advocate that is an area we can expand. By naming not dignify countries who come in and offer no Strings Attached<\/a> training. Im glad we offer vetting. We should get an investment and return on investment. I think we do the right things with the way we screen and investment and look at the longterm return for oath of our forces. That is an area i think we would do well to expand, senator. Sen. Ernst very good. Dollars well spent. Thank you very much, admiral. Ranking member peters. Sen. Peters thank you, madam chair. Admiral, we appreciate it. I think its clear from the discussion that we had earlier in my office as well as in your testimony that you provided here in the opening is that you agree corruption, lack of economic opportunity, violence and really the failure of democratic in the northern triangle is a significant cause for some of the mass migration we are staying out of these countries, as well as the drug trade through these countries. Is that an accurate statement . The connection between weak adm faller the connection sir between weak governance, corruption, Transnational Criminal Organizations<\/a> and then even the opportunity for china and russia, as you articulated, is significant. I consider that the number one Security Threat<\/a> that we face here in this hemisphere. That same corruption breeds criminal activity, could breed terror activity and certainly breeds the kind of dirty deals that other external state actors come in and thrive on. Sen. Peters in order to deal so in order to deal with that , breakdown of governance, it probably makes sense to have a whole of government approach in dealing with it. That means not just the military operations that youre engaged in but also ngo activities. That are working on Civil Society<\/a> and structures. I know youve had experience working with the ngos. Particularly in the northern triangle. Are they helpful . Do you think thats part of the approach that we need to take in order to stabilize those countries . Adm faller the strong institutions and the Strong Defense<\/a> institutions in these countries contribute to the whole of government solution and thats where we focus. We have a program called Defense Institution<\/a> building which gets after that through our perry center here in washington, d. C. As that plays into a whole of Government Strategy<\/a> across what we call the diplomacy, information, military and economics. dime . Thats the best solution longterm. That is the best way to get the most lasting, resilient, longterm results. Sen. Peters youre saying programs like u. S. Aid, state department. Programs in those countries are critically important for us in our work to stabilize those areas and hopefully prevent mass migration. And some of the Drug Trafficking<\/a> that comes out of those countries. The integration of all element of our power is key. I have a civilian deputy whos a full ambassador from the state department. She has former usaid experience. We have a Senior Executive<\/a> from usaid that sits to my left at every meeting as one of my most senior reps. So we can figure out how to best integrate it. Sen. Peters the trump so administration recently cut , off all nondefense aid to the northern triangle. As i know you are aware, guatemala, honduras, and el salvador. Did the administration consult you as to whether or not that made sense . Adm faller the pressure thats being applied to these governments i would offer is good. The decision to cut off is a policy decision and im not normally part of policy decisions, senator. But, i advocated and articulated to the defense leadership the important contributions that professional militaries from honduras, guatemala and el salvador have made particularly in the counter narcotics fight. Where their special forces are really getting after it in a way that is paying dividends for u. S. Security. Thats why we were able to continue our mil to mil engagement, senator. Sen. Peters admiral the leahy , law bars assistance to Security Forces<\/a> who have committed gross human rights violations. As you are aware. Would it make sense to add corruption to the list that would cut off Security Assistance<\/a>, particularly corruption that enables drug and Human Trafficking<\/a> . Senator, i dont know that i would have thought through would have thought through enough how corruption might play into the leahy law. I think the leahy law is extremely effective. Its demanding, rightly so. And it produces units that we can trust and look at and know are doing the right thing with respect to human rights. In the Financial Times<\/a> interview from june 26th, 2019, president putin said, quote, there are no Russian Troops<\/a> in venezuela and characterized the personnel there as just specialists and instructors to train local forces. Yet multiple press outlets have reported that Paramilitary Forces<\/a> deployed to venezuela to provide security for president maduro. These are the same forces that conducted missions on kremlins behalf. How would you characterize the actions of kremlin forces in venezuela . Is it just regular training or is it something more nefarious . Senator, weve consistently seen the way russia manipulates media around the world. At one point in february for my full senate Armed Services<\/a> committee hearing, about a week before the hearing i was here doing prehearing office calls and i came out to the news that russian state tv was reporting my appearance near the border. I think that states russias approach overall to accuracy. There are Russian Troops<\/a>, defense contractors, their presence in the hundreds in venezuela. They are supporting the maduro regime. They are keeping russian gear operable. They are conducting a full range of activities you would expect a foreign power to do to prop up their puppet regime. Thank you, admiral. Senator holly. Thank you for being here. Is it fair to say that one key russian and chinese objective is to reduce United States<\/a> influence and access . Is. Think it i think for russia well characterize as almost a wounded bear wanting power. They want to make the u. S. Look bad and do anything that would blunt the u. S. Advantage even if that advantage is for the International Good<\/a> of the people as it is in venezuela. For china, they have economic interests around the world. Were working hard as a nation to figure out how those legitimate International Interests<\/a> can actually be played using the rule of law. They have an economic interest primarily. The ports theyre working on the extensive i. T. Infrastructure, the space access theyre working on, all these that would be characterized by Chinese State<\/a> officials as soft power, they have hard aims. As i said earlier this year, theyre setting the stage for future access and influence that would have clearly military dimension. Just on this last point about china with their ports, with their development, you see that as part of a larger Strategic Plan<\/a> on chinas part to ramp up their influence in the region and also to diminish ours. Is that fair to say . China has global aims that extend beyond economic. I think weve got to continue to outcompete china globally including in this neighborhood, this hemisphere. Give us a sense of what you think in your judgement that looks like. What do we need to be doing to mete and turn back their strategic aims here . There are a lot of security challenges around the world as have been outlined, north korea, iran, russia, china, souch. We have to make sure we look at those globally. We have to make sure theyre resourced global ly. Globally. At a point weve got to be in the region, be present. That means u. S. Navy ships,coast guard cutters, marine forces, special operations forces, small numbers. We have in some cases adequate numbers now, but if we took reductions we might have to for the global fight that would have a disproportionate impact in the longterm ability too work with our partners. Capability gaps we should be doing something about . Im confident were going to come out of those. The Sergeant Major<\/a> and i spent several hours on a ship in florida recently. Its a capability we need. The navy is committed to deploying one in october. We look forward to that so we dont have a navy combatant now so thats a gap. We need those for monitoring the situation in venezuela,also for the global counter narcotic fight. Thats our number one asset to detect that flow so we are short assets, yes, senator. Thank you for that. Thats very helpful. Let me ask you about our mill to mill context here which youve already discussed some. They seem to be in your region relatively narrow focused and at the small unit level. Do you feel that our training events with our partner nations are focused at the right level , and are they having the effect that you think they should be . We do focus at the unit level. But we also have some high end exercise with our very capable partners. We just completed unitas. Had its 60th year. Our very capable chilean partnered hosted that. 12 nations in that exercise from around the globe. U. K,. Andfrom the others. At the same time we had our forces commando. So 19 special operations squads working together in a team. We do have high ends exercises. I think theres more we could do to increase the level and complexity of those and bring more partners in. Thats one of the things were focused on, if theres Additional Resources<\/a> for exercises. Last question just on unitas. Over 1700 personnel participated, 12 nations. Can you describe the degree of trust among the participating nations, things you feel came out of this that you would report onto this . I attended the Opening Ceremony<\/a> and had a chance to sit in the brief in the hangar of a chilean frigt. You saw a band of brothers standing there on the flight deck that would make any one of us proud. Thats exercise money, training dollars, thats well spent. That covered everything from hadr to response to a terrorist activity and it was intense. Thank you. Thank you for being here today. You mentioned the shortfall in the global counter narcotics efforts. Im sure you are aware, the Opioid Crisis<\/a> in the u. S. Was responsible for more than 147,000 deaths in 2017. Much of that comes in from mexico, heroin grown in smern countriesmerican trafficked to the u. S. By air and sea. It has a real impact on the entire country. Can you talk about what you are doing to coordinate with safe governments on this effort . National security crisis. Its a significant focus of ours. As i mentioned in a previous question, there are insufficient resources dedicated that, were working as hard as we can with the coast guard. Theyve dedicated twice the number of cutters to the effort than what they commit in their annual global plan and our navy stepped up to commit more. Joint Interagency Task<\/a> force south in key west is the premier center. With about 1. 5 of the budget , gets about 90 of the drugs headed into the country, cocaine which is principally coming from colombia. Were working as hard as we can with our partners across the u. S. Interagency, principally to look at ways to be more effective and put more resources and intelligence and thought into the interdiction problem. Its also supply problem and a demand problem. In that regard, id have to say that colombia has stepped up in a significant way. While the statistics that you cite dont reflect that because of the time lag, what has been published and made public for 2018 is a significant increase in manual eradication, a significant increase in colombian partner interdiction, a significant increase in the colombian forces contact with narco traffic. Traffickers. More can be done. We are certainly dedicated to that because there is still way too much drugs that are getting through and getting to this country, senator. Thank you very much. I want to switch subjects now. Im looking at a contract award document from the Defense Logistics Agency<\/a> for february of 2018. One of the projects described here is for contingency at Guantanamo Bay<\/a> for construction of that mass migration complex. Of that mass migration complex. It includes site shaping for tents, concrete pads. It goes on to talk about mass notification system, various infrastructure requirements. Are you aware of this contract tents, concrete pads. And have you been part of any discussions about what that mass migration complex is going to be used for . Is it going to be used for movement of migrants from our southern border to Guantanamo Bay<\/a> . Senator, one of our missions is to be able to handle any kind of mass migration event. Thats a southcomm mission. We have experienced that in the past with migrants from cuba and haiti. Part of the naval station, theres a field at part of the naval station in Guantanamo Bay<\/a> that is an unimproved field that could be subject to any kind of weather conditions, mud. So to get that field to a standard that if we had a mass migration, we could keep the migrants on cement pads instead of in the mud and have power and water for sanitation ready to go. We didnt currently there addhave facilities in the numbers. Ive been down to look at the progress. Work is ongoing. We also run an annual training drill. We actually send our Army Soldiers<\/a> there to walk through the command and control in the interagency coordination that may be required. Im very much involved in the details. That is for projected future mass migration event. There have been no discussion or order given to me to prepare that site for any kind of southwest border flow. Are you aware of any discussions that have been held that you may not have been given a direct order, but have you been part of or do you know of any discussions that have been held to move southern border migrants there . No, senator. Nobodys had a discussion with me to that effect. Thank you. Senator corona. Thank you, madam chair. I would like to follow on on the questions just asked. To a 23 Million Contract<\/a> to house mass migration, people as a result of mass migration. What is that money for . Is it just i dont understand. Isnt it going to go to put some buildings up in this field that youre talking about at Guantanamo Bay<\/a> . Senator, we currently have a migration operation principally for cuban migrants. There are a small flow of migrants that come from cuba. This money is for mass migration. I dont think were talking about cuba or haiti. So the current facilities are inadequate to hold any more than a few hundred. So the worst case plans based on historical analysis or some kind of future event, could be a weatherrelated event, would call for a larger infrastructure footprint that could hold into the tens of thousands. Thats what thats based on. Its based on electrical infrastructure, sewer, water, power, some sanitation buildings. Its a very spartan camp, though, senator. Are you saying this money is not for the purposes of moving some of the migrants from the northern triangle countries to Guantanamo Bay<\/a> . Thats correct, senator. Not for. Any news reports that say there is a potential for housing these people at Guantanamo Bay<\/a> would be mistaken . Ive seen the same news reports, senator. But the program money and the project and the mission is for mass migration not southwest border. So you havent gotten any order or theres no direct order, no discussion about sending people from the northern tryiangle to Guantanamo Bay<\/a>. But if such discussions occur, would you let this committee know . Senator, i assure you i would if theres a discussion with that respect. With thousands of people coming from the northern triangle, our facilities are bursting at the seams and theres no question that some of our defense assets might be put to use to house these people. So it think its a matter of great concern for us. So page one of your testimony, you talk about the impact of interstate competition with china and russia. So china, as you know, is a primary threat in the indo pacific area but they are increasingly turning to other countries. They spread a wide net. What impact has chinas activities on southern demand had with your relationships with partner nations . Chinas very busy trying to insert themselves into having influence with our partner countries in that area. Is it making it harder for you to retain these important relationships with our partner countries . Our partners still want and view us as a partner of choice and our schools, education and everything is preferred. I think the challenge comes in if we dont have the speed, the quantity, or for some reason were not there to be able to provide the partnership. So from that respect when a nation ill give you one example. Im sitting having my third cup of tea with one of the leaders from a capable caribbean partner nation. I dont start out asking about china. I start asking about the things that are mutual threats, how they perceive them. I have a lot to learn in my tour. But we get to china whether they bring it up, ill bring it up. Ill be blunt and ask whats china providing for you. This particular chief of defense said they gifted me 23 million last year, heres cash. I looked at my Security Cooperation<\/a> card and i think my total sum of assistance was 1. 5, which i felt was pretty adequate. So were not going to compete in volume. We have to compete in quality and speed of relevance. Sometimes that may be fast, sometimes slow based on what the partner needs. So that does make it challenging, though. 23 million. The chief of defense said, well, i didnt buy any i. T. With that, admiral. Well, okay, but theres only so many uniforms you can buy with 23 million, so you did something with it. I get it, its hard to turn down cash. Thats the challenge were competing with. Some of the partners are turning it down. One wonders for how long can they turn down what might be basically free money. Are china and russia also involved in the northern triangle countries . So its different per country. I try to always break them apart and go country by country. Previous leadership in el salvador had a little different view about china and it changed directions. I think the new leadership is much more pro u. S. In really wanting to partner. I mentioned their chief of defense and minister of defense. And thats including both russia and china. And i see the same in honduras and guatemala. From a policy perspective, they stuck by taiwan and the u. S. , guatemala and honduras have. I think its different. But russia and china are in there and theyre trying to make inroads and theyll take every opportunity to move in if were not. It sounds as though that is a constant thing for you. So keep doing it. Thank you, madam chair. We will go ahead and do a second round of questioning. I think our members have additional questions. Theyd love to hear your thoughts on. We talked a little bit about argentina during your office call and some of the deep space tracking facilities that are there. If you could in an unclassified setting, can you elaborate on the assessed purpose of that facility and the threat it is posing to our military and other assets that we have here. Chinas working in space and around the globe and across all elements of space. I think our focus on space is exactly right. We need to stay ahead in this area. Theyre looking for access points. They found them in south america and argentinas principally one. Thats the extent to what china is doing and the degree of military activity at that site is extremely concerning to the security of the United States<\/a>. Can you expound on what is the impact to the United States<\/a> . Chinas ability to have a more global view of all space activities. That could run the gamut of offense and defense. Thank you. Outside of china and russia, we spent a lot of time visiting about them. But iran and iranian proxies do have a long history in south america and the western hemisphere. There was the 1994 bombing of a Jewish Center<\/a> in argentina and hezbollah fundraising activities across the region. How would you characterize their presence in this hemisphere and what are their primary objectives . Iran continues to be the number one state sponsor of terror around the world. Their long arm of malfeasance is everywhere. Weve seen that recently in their attacks on tankers. They have two attacks right here in washington, d. C. They attempted to kill the saudi ambassador to the United States<\/a> really within blocks of where were sitting and their state sponsored terror attack in argentina. There are active connections between Iranian Regime<\/a> and hezbollah fundraising activity throughout the region. We watch these closely. Theres also iranian sponsorship of Islamic Centers<\/a> with very dubious and questionable purposes throughout the hemisphere that has considerable ties to known terror activities in iran. And we keep our eye on this and we work closely with our capable partners, such as brazil and argentina, to share information about these threats. And in your estimation, then, these elements that exist in this hemisphere, are they capable of hindering u. S. Objectives . Weve seen what iran is doing day in and day out, senator, in the arabian gulf, in yemen, in saudi arabia, in the uae, what theyve done here in the past and so i i dont put much stock in their good intentions going forward, and so i think weve got our eye on this one as best we can with the resources we have. Thank you, admiral. Ill yield back my time. Senator peters. Thank you, thank you, madam chair. Im going to pick up on a question the chair asked you about. You talked about the space domain. The other domain we need to be focused on is cyber, in particular, chinese activities around the world in that area. Can you explain what the chin niece may or may not be doing in latin america to expand their Cyber Capabilities<\/a> . Start with the crisis in venezuela, so the maduro made crisis there, pushed out over 4 million migrants, unfortunately, its affecting their region, is being aided, abetted, by russia, cuba cuba, to a lesser extent, a significant one china. The debt i mentioned in my Opening Statement<\/a>, china is also, i mentioned this as well, involved in enabling cyber for the maduro regime. We look broadly beyond that. The attractiveness of i. T. Infrastructure and the safe city, smart city concept where i. T. Infrastructure can provide surveillance opportunities for Security Forces<\/a> as being actively pursued by a number of important partners in the region. Weve been very actively involved with our interagency partners to explain the risks, partners get it and theyve been able in some cases to articulate that to their leadership to slow or stop some projects but they turn to us and say whats our alternative . Just like was mentioned about the money, senator hirono mentioned, at some point you do need resources. They need i. T. Infrastructure. On a milltomill level, were working on packaging with cyber cybercom. Some of our first ever Security Cooperation<\/a> packages with partners we asked, almost everywhere we go, the partners want to do more in this area and we made visits to do some assessments and with support of congress, were going to come forward with some 3033 packages that will do training, cyber infrastructure, in a miltomil realm. Its the first ones ever. Thats got to be our response and thats another reason why we need to, when i talk more broadly about being there and being consistent, thats one of the areas were going to look moving forward and that will help both of us on cyber defense. China is there in a big way, senator. Senator. China uses cyber not just to deal with security issues, surveillance issues to prevent crime but also to keep track of their population and some would argue to manipulate the population and get them more compliant with with the regime. Do you think latin american governments are also moving in that direction with the assistance of the chinese . Senator, when i talk to our partners about u. S. Versus china, i say, look, im not here to bash china. Im not here to even ask you to make a choice. Im here to talk about whats important to you and whats important to us and i think i know where you come from where you honor and respect democracy, rule of law, human rights and sovereignty. I look at those four representative variables and i look at the competition that you might to do business with. These other external state actors and i know where we stand. Were not the perfect people, but we work really hard at being good in this country, particularly in our military. We make mistakes, but theyre usually mistakes of, you know, honest mistakes. I know where i stand on those four variables and where the competition stands on those four variable. When you buy into a product, are you prepared to buy in what might come with what kind of rule of law, what kind of respect for human rights . I dont see currently an indication that people are buying into that in a way thats corrupting them or causing them to stray from their commitment to us and their commitment to professionalism on a miltomil level. When you look long term, it concerns me when you look long term, democracy, human rights, rule of law. Thank you. Admiral, as im sure youre aware in 2017 President Trump<\/a> signed into law the women peace and priority security act. Security act. We prioritize women in conflict negotiations and security structures and peace negotiations. Can you talk about how southcom is implementing that law and how you see it helping you to accomplish your mission . Master chief sytacey orin is my gender adviser, alter ego to the command Major Sergeant<\/a> here. Shes out actually on a field trip working on this. When we look at professionalism, what it takes to be a professional force, i think thats principally why people want to partner with us. Were professional. Professional forces are legitimate. Professional forces respect human rights, rule of law. They also respect talent and allowing equal opportunity to come in and compete irrespective of who you are, what you do and whether youre a female or male. Thats what our approach is and how we talk about it. So my commanders conferences that i have, we have a big one coming up in august in brazil for all the south american countries. That will be a focus point of the discussion with our counterparts and how they work that and how we work with them and weve actually had requests from some of our partners to say how did you, United States<\/a>, work through the integration putting women on the team, on combat ships at sea . Thats one of projects were taking on with one of our partner nations. They appreciate the act because it came with resources that help us to sponsor training courses. We hosted a first course where were training the commanders. I kicked the course off, the afternoon of my first day in command, actually, and were looking how to move this forward in practical ways that deliver combat capability. I actually think it does. I know it does. Delivers combat capability. Well, i think its also important to point out that theres a growing body of evidence that shows what a difference it makes to have women at the table in conflict resolution and in peace negotiations where we know if women are part of those negotiations, they are 30 , more than 30 , likely to last for longer than 15 years. So i think for all kinds of reasons including the ones you cite, its important for us to see this law implemented. Thank you very much. Thank you, madam chair. Senator hirono. Thank you. The joint Interagency Task<\/a> force stop Drug Trafficking<\/a>. South helps detect, monitor, and stop Drug Trafficking<\/a>. Can you clarify for me, you mentioned in your response 40 of interdictions are by our partner countries. Thats 40 of the 6 of the drugs that are interdicted. When President Trump<\/a> declared a National Emergency<\/a> to fund his border wall, he announced he would pull 2. 5 billion from the department of defenses drug interdiction program. Thats the program that were talking about. How are the funds in this Drug Addiction Program<\/a> used to address Drug Trafficking<\/a> . If these funds are diverted to build a border wall, how would this impact your ability to complete your drug and addiction effort . Force is key to this effort. They are doing a great job, with about 1. 5 of the overall counter products funds for the entire government to get up to 90 of all of the cocaine. Still it is not enough. Policy decision on how Border Security<\/a> is done is not something im involved in. We have not had any cut in our funding. However, we have received the money we needed and do need to fight the fight we are in. We need more assets. That costs money. The principal problem we face has not been a shortage of counter narcotics money. We should go we appreciate the support of congress. This 2. 5 billion, youre not going to miss it if it goes away . If we lost the money from our counter cuts, we would miss it. We have not had a cut in our narcotics funding. It may happen. The way things are going. President is talking about diverting this money for a wall, which is not going to help, in terms of drug and addiction efforts, because most drugs come through the regular port, points of entry, not wear a wall will be. You noted in your testimony on is atwo that this area large source of illicit drugs u. S. Llegal migrants to the further on, you know youre working with partners to address challenges and threats in this area, including corruption, Transnational Criminal Organizations<\/a>, and the flow of illicit drugs . Lookingthat you are forward to discussing the nature of this activity due to how you are working with your partners to address these issues. Give us an example of how you are working with your partners to go after all of these the corruption and the litany. Team effort. It is a big list. A principal partner within the department of defense is north,. Talksl Charles Seiter<\/a> about making sure there is no seam between the guatemalan and mexican border, and how we view and track these challenges. At its heart, these are Intelligence Driven<\/a> challenges. One of the drivers of the migration . What are the key criminal organizations that are involved in the trafficking . Whether it is people, arms, drugs that prey on the weak governance. Sharing intelligence with our partners, building their capacity to understand our own environment, and taking the intelligence and building it into packages that we have passed upon our nation law enforcement. Most of the challenges involved action by other Government Entities<\/a> working closely with Homeland Security<\/a> to pass information when we know it about migrant caravans or illicit drugs. Make an impact, you have to have a longterm commitment to addressing these issues. , the entirely innate. That does not help when you have the million taken away from northern triangle countries. Thank you. I appreciate the subcommittees participation in todays activities. Thank you very much for being here and representing our men and women of south com. We appreciate your service to our nation. To you and your team, we appreciate the great impact you have provided for all of us. With that, this hearing is closed. Live on thursday at 9 30 a. M. Eastern, the senate arms Services Committee<\/a> will consider the nomination of army general mark millie for a chair of the joint chiefs of staff. Cspan3, onn cspan. Org, or listen with the free cspan radio app. Journalwashington live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Morning, wednesday Board Members<\/a> of the one country project, including former north dakota democratic senator heidi heitkamp, and jd shelton, talk about their campaign to reinvigorate the democratic partys relationship with the world issues and voters. 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