Friends dont have to be. When youre connected, youre not alone. Supporting cspan as a Public Service along with these other Television Providers giving you a front row seat into democracy. Defense Department Deputy press secretary sabrina took questions from reporters on the israel hamas war including the legit airstrike on the hospital that killed more than 500 people. She also discusses new leading y declassified images and videos of Chinese Military actions against u. S. Aircraft in International Airspace. From the pentagon this is just under an hour. Hi, everyone. Good afternoon. I would like to introduce the admiral Commander United States indo Pacific Command and assistant secretary defense for Indo Pacific Security Affairs and riskya. Operational behavior over the last year or so against u. S. Aircraft operating lawfully in International Airspace in the east and South China Sea region. We will release the videos and images later this afternoon and with that i will turn it over. Thank you, sabrina. Good afternoon everyone. I would like to take this opportunity to speak about the newly declassified pictures and videos shared by the Department Today that depict the sharp increase in risky operational behavior in east and South China Seas and in particular id also like to discuss why it represents such a significant ntconcern. As many of you know every year for over 20 years the department of defense has released what we call the China Military power reform. Its an important document because thats then departments authoritative public assessment of the pla and the. Role it pls in helping to realize beijings broader ambitions. This years report will be out soon and taken together with todays announcements it represents the most comprehensive depiction to date of this highly concerning behavior. Last year noted the pla fighter jets were increasingly engaging in coercive and risky operational behaviors, this provides a clear estimate of that disturbing trend. Specifically since the fall of 2021, we have seen more than 180 such incidents more in the past two years van in the decade before that. Thats nearly 200 cases where the pla operators performed reckless maneuvers were discharged shut off flares or approached to rapidly were too close to u. S. Aircraft all as part of trying to interfere in the ability of u. S. Forces to operate safely in places where we and every country in thers world have every right to be under International Law. When you take into account cases of coercive t and risky interces against other states, the number increases to nearly 300 cases against u. S. Come ally and partner aircraft over the past two years. Let me give you a moment to explain why this matters from our perspective. For decades, the United States has operated in the region safely, responsibly and in accordance with International Law and we will continue to do so. Our allies and partners welcome our military presence because it advances our shared vision for a free and open indo pacific. This vision which secretary alston described in the dialogue this year is characterized by respect fors poverty, adherence to International Law, believe in transparency and openness, freedom of commerce and navigation, equal rights for all states and the resolution of disputes through peaceful means, not through coercion or conquest. And its the peace and stability extending from the security environment that provided the foundation for the regions shared prosperity. By contrast, the corsican risky behavior like the kind of the department is highlighting today seeks to intimidate and coerce members of the International Community to givinger up their rights on the International Law. It directly contradicts what the region wants for itself and it can put lives at risk, our Service Members and even the lives of pla operators. Today they may need to look different with her in terms of the distance between the lawfully operating u. S. Assets into the pla asset engaged in coercive and risky behavior or in terms of how exactly the asset behaves in any given interaction. But all of these examples we released today underscore the coercive intent of the pla by engagingng in these behaviors particularly in the International Airspace. The bottom line is that in many cases, thisat type of operationl behavior can cause accidents, dangerous accidents can lead to inadvertent conflict. January this year for example, the american aircraft is flying in the skies of the South China Sea, safely, responsibly and in accordance with International Law and hundreds of miles from land. The pla jetas fighter approached at hundreds of Miles Per Hour clearly armed and closing to just 30 feet away. Once it was there, the fighter jet lingered out the narrow proximity for more than 15 minutes. L just weeks before, they publicly released a video of a similar incident to engage in this coercive andf risky behavior so soon after that incident. Indeed for the operators to continue the behavior at all points to win it will describe as the centralized and Concerted Campaign. Let me say that again, a centralized and Concerted Campaign in order to coerce the change in the u. S. Operational activity and that of the u. S. Allies and partners. We also witnessed pilots deliberately interfering with and creating turbulence for u. S. Operators by flying in front of aircraft at close differences. Photos from an incident in january 2020 to show the jet crossing in front of the lawfully operating u. S. Assets at a distance of just 100 yards forcing the pilot to fly through the plas wake hundreds of Miles Per Hour at an altitude of tens of thousands of feet. May of this year as you know it released a video of an aircraft speeding along a u. S. Aircraft before cutting in front of it. You could even see the physical effects of the turbulence on the aircraft and the crew. This is yet another disturbing sign of the coercive and risky operational behavior at the time when the prc has declined our invitations to open lines of military to military communication at the seniormost levels. The images and videos speak for themselves. U. S. Planes are operating safely, responsibly and in accordance with International Law. The skill and the professionalism of american Service Members should not be the only thing standing between the pla Fighter Pilots and a dangerous even fatal accident. And yet, time after time that is exactly what has prevented disaster in the east and china seas. At the prc can and must and this behavior. De for our part of the department will continue to raise awareness about the dangers of the coercive and risky operational behavior. Weon will also continue to seek open lines of. A communication at multiple levels including the seniormost level because we believe these channels are crucial for preventing competition from inadvertently veering into conflict. Finally the United States will not be detoured or coerced. We will continue to fly, fail and operate safely and responsibly wherever International Law allows. The forces help sustain peace and stability in the indo pacific for decades and we will continue to do so every day. So i hope todays announcement can help increase understanding here in washington, across the indo pacific and around the world about why the plas operational behavior is so concerning. Thank you and i will turn over to the admiral before we open it up to questions. Thanks. Good to see you. Thanks for inviting me and to all of the when the audience ive spoken to many of you but im honored to be year and i think you for participating. He talked about the perspective into thein challenges that exist as it applies to the prc activity described in the report. I am here to talk about these concerns from my perspective as a commander of u. S. Indo pay calm. First let me start by stating that the servicemembers of indo pay calm or uniform members, civilian warriors, every day operate in order to prevent conflict. That is prevent conflict, not provoke it. Now, we do that in order to execute our functions and missions and that is to maintain a free and open indo pacific. That free and open indo pacific enables peace, prosperity and stability for all the nations in the region and weve done that for eight decades. Pay calm detours conflict by being ready every day, whether it is a war fighting capability, operations, relationships with our allies and partners and exercises. Let me point out the joint force is highly trained, disciplined andne professional. The air operations are planned, rehearsed and executed safely every day. As the joint force commander im most concerned about the potential for accidents the way the doctor explained them and of those accidents could lead to miscalculation. We must prevent these from happening in the theater. So, let me be clear, intercepts happen every day aroundar the world. The vast majority are conducted safely and without incident. And theres no reason for the intercept with the prc in the Indo Pacific Region to be any different. Im here today because its the operational commanders number one responsibility to ensure the safety of our servicemembers, and its a responsibility i take very seriously so highlighting these behaviors and ensuring we can prevent them is a top priority. I want to thank you again for allowing me to be here today and i look forward to your questions. A quick note at the top i ask you keep your questions to this topic and then we will brief after. Given the new conflict, how concerned are you you will not have the assets you need to given that theres not too carriers monitoring how are you able to continue to deter china if all the assets we had to essentially go to another Central Command conflict and given that there is also now a second conflict, have you been able to speak to any of your partners or allies about increasing production to get more sense now both israel and ukraine will need them . So, thanks. Let me start first it is incredibly sad to watch the actions of the terrorists in the middle east. Its also sad to watch the illegitimate a legal war in ukraine thats been initiated by thet russians. As it applies to the indo pacific and my responsibilities, but i will tell you is i havent had one piece of equipment or force structure depart. The United States is a global power and that means we can deliver affects and execute the deterrence responsibilities across the globe. I dont think any other nation can do that at this time, but the United States can. By the way, the indo Pacific Command has two aircraft carriers right now and see as well along with a large portion of the joint force executing deterrence missions. May be ibe will follow up. Im going to stay away from the questions of issues related to other theaters and discussions of allies and partners but what i will say about this question of what is the events in other parts of the world mean for our policy s and strategy in the ino pacific and as it relates to the prc which is we have a 2022 2022national Defense Strategy wt is described as the departments challenge that remains true today, we have a president ial budget request for the department that reflects that strategy. A strategy driven budget, and we have been in addition to those investments developing new operational concepts relevant to the region. We have been developing a more mobile distributed lethal and weve had a better year in that regardas over the last 12 montha lot of great work in concert with indo pay calm from japan, the philippines down through australia and in the meantime, weve been deepening our alliances and partnerships in the region and to a t the key alliances and partnerships in the region are stronger than they havee ever been. As a result of that activity, youve likely heard the Department Leaders say repeatedly we believe deterrence is real and strong and we are doing everything we cang to kep it that way. Is there concern in the region that while engaging in both ukraine and israel, there might be reduced capability to meet whatever threat is faced in the same countries by china . Like i said weve been taking a number of steps to strengthen our deterrentss to the region ad we will continue to do that. Have you seen any indications or intel with the chinese looking at this period of not distraction but to just focus on the middle east and is an opening for a potential invasion of taiwan but operations again . How many of these are unsafe and or unprofessional . Because that has been the way weve measured the behaviors. It seems suggestive. Thanks. Im certainly not going to discuss any intel that ive seen. Buti i will say is historically all nations look at whats going on in the geopolitical space and military space and i would expect there to be lessons learned. Indo pay calm her fears every day to ensure we execute both of the missions the secretary gave me. Number one to prevent conflict in the indo pacific and number two if mission one fails be prepared to fight and win. So, those actions go on each and every day in indo pay calm and we would expect all nations to be watchingld these actions and determining how that best fits in to their future. Thatshi it. My forces already today. In response to your question, look, we have a very specific set of criteria that weve used to articulate and describe particular behaviors that are classified. It should remain classified and what we are presenting today is a set of activities that we believe exhibit observable behavior and that weve catalogued along the lines that ive described. I understand the desire for exactly how many of these, what is the number. One is too many. Thats our view at the department. What weve provided and we will be on the pentagon website if it isnt already we will be 15 specific instances cataloguing over this period from the fall of 2021 through today the most 20recent case in september and every one of these is one too many. [inaudible] how do you strengthen the cooperation in north korea, china and russia . Thank you. First, we watch very closely the cooperation and certainly the concern from indo pay calm as the statement of the no limits relationship between the prc and russia, the inability to denounce bad actions globally, and of the increased cooperation exercises and we watch it very closely. So the authoritarian powers working that closely together certainly is concerning. Second on north korea and russia with the transfer of weapons and capabilities that youve cnn have been written about in the media is also of concern. So, the region is more dangerous and be able to more closely. [inaudible] youre going to have to ask my counterparts in china. As ive been on the record before, ive asked to speak to my counterparts going on two and a half years. Ive yet to have one of those requests accepted and i look forward to speaking to my counterparts. I think developing that relationship would be critical to maintaining the peace and stability in the region. They are talking about focusing on intercepts in the air. I know thereve been some instances and videos shared by others. Is there a similar trend youre seeing on the water . Maybe i will take that first and pass it over. Absolutely yes this is part of a broader pattern of pla behavior throughout the region, with her about domains and throughout the geographies that weou are seeing this behavior on the water, in the east and the South China Sea and against allies and partners not just in the United States but on land against our indian partners, so this is part of a much broader picture. What we wanted to do today was focus on this particular set provides some information and some data and this particular issue is one weve spoken about with counterparts when hes had the opportunity to do that. If you want to talk about the broader regional picture. Incidence in the matter of time that are concerning. We released one not long ago when they were transiting through the Taiwan Strait and pla ship cut directly in front of the United States ship. Thats one example. There are more. The best i would to say if you look at what the philippines have released most recently as ity applies to utilizing fire hoses and attempt to blocking their movement its similar to the air domain. Is there any indication of communication between the u. S. And allied pilots, drivers and with the chinese . Is a oneway conversation or any conversation . Also is this being run by the Chinese Government or more lower level military . I would go with what the doctor talked about asat part of the report. It assesses that this is part of a strategy. Point number two, the first thing we do at all points in the operationalac space is an attemt to communicate to ensure both parties understand what are we doing, whats our intent to ensure we can avoid any type of accident. Thats always step one. Sometimes that communication happens, sometimes it doesnt. And theres i think video or audio into videos that articulate. There is expensive claims that are not in accordance with International Law. But the United States attempts to communicate and