{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-bashes-biden-admin-for-prioritizing-ukraine-over-air-defense-against-china/", "Hawley Bashes Biden Admin for Prioritizing Ukraine Over Air Defense Against China", "2024-07-10", "2024", "2024-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin calling out the Biden Administration\u2019s prioritization of air and missile defense for Ukraine, while neglecting support for U.S. and Taiwanese forces in the Pacific.\n\n\u201cThe tradeoff between sending weapons to Ukraine and supporting U.S. forces and allies in the Pacific can no longer be denied [\u2026] The Biden administration\u2019s actions do not just place Taiwan at risk: these actions will endanger U.S. forces in the Pacific. Air and missile defenses are critical to protect U.S. forces from a potential Chinese attack,\u201d wrote Senator Hawley.\n\nHe continued, \u201cLet us be clear: China, not Russia, poses the greatest threat to American security. This should not be controversial [\u2026] If China successfully invades Taiwan, Beijing will be primed to dismantle America\u2019s alliance network in East Asia and eventually dominate the region. And time is short to deter China.\u201d\n\nRead the full letter here or below.\n\nJuly 10, 2024\n\nHonorable Lloyd J. Austin III\n\nSecretary of Defense\n\nU.S. Department of Defense\n\n1000 Defense Pentagon\n\nWashington, D.C. 20301\n\nDear Secretary Austin,\n\nI write with concern over reports that the Biden administration will prioritize the delivery of Patriot, National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), and associated interceptor missiles to Ukraine, even at the expense of the U.S. military and our allies.\n\nThe tradeoff between sending weapons to Ukraine and supporting U.S. forces and allies in the Pacific can no longer be denied. Air and missile defenses, above all Patriot and NASAMS systems, are vital to deterring or denying a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. This is not news. For years, Taiwan\u2019s Ministry of National Defense has asked the U.S. to let them purchase additional air and missile defenses to protect themselves from such an invasion. Despite their pleas, this administration has instead prioritized Ukraine. Americans concerned about the state of U.S. deterrence in the Pacific have been repeatedly lectured that there is no tradeoff between Ukraine and Taiwan. Yet while Taiwan enters its third year waiting for $2.81 billion in Patriot-related articles and services via the glacial Foreign Military Sales regime, your Department has sent a third Patriot battery to Ukraine directly from U.S. military stocks, and we now hear the United States will prioritize Ukraine to receive additional Patriot interceptors and other air and missile defenses.\n\nThe Biden administration\u2019s actions do not just place Taiwan at risk: these actions will endanger U.S. forces in the Pacific. Air and missile defenses are critical to protect U.S. forces from a potential Chinese attack. China\u2019s rocket forces have greatly advanced in recent years, in both quantity and quality. Within the first hours of an invasion of Taiwan, Chinese missile barrages could successfully strike U.S. bases at least as far as Guam. The U.S. missile defense architecture in the Western Pacific is currently insufficient to deter China from potential attacks in the coming years. Moreover, if the Joint Force is to credibly execute the Joint Warfighting Concept and Agile Combat Employment against China, it needs more air and missile defenses to protect a distributed basing architecture across the Pacific. At a time when air and missile defense stockpiles are dangerously low, sending additional Patriot batteries and interceptors to Europe rather than the Pacific will further embolden China\u2019s ambitions.\n\nThis is not the first time the United States has sacrificed air and missile defense in Asia for Ukraine. Last year, this administration pressured Japan and South Korea to send their own stocks of Patriot interceptors to Ukraine. It is no wonder that the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission concluded that the United States\u2019 shipments of \u201cexisting stocks of weapons and munitions to Ukraine\u201d has \u201cundermin[ed] the island\u2019s [Taiwan\u2019s] readiness\u201d against a Chinese invasion.\n\nLet us be clear: China, not Russia, poses the greatest threat to American security. This should not be controversial: your own Department\u2019s National Defense Strategy affirms that you will prioritize China ahead of Russia, even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite this rhetoric, the Biden administration has repeatedly diverted weapons to Europe and away from Asia.\n\nIf China successfully invades Taiwan, Beijing will be primed to dismantle America\u2019s alliance network in East Asia and eventually dominate the region. And time is short to deter China. Last year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified that China will be able to invade, and even seize, Taiwan by 2027\u2014less than three years from today.\n\nThese concerns in mind, I request your written responses to the following questions no later than August 9, 2024:\n\nFrom which intended recipients will air and missile defense systems be diverted to Ukraine? Please include a full list of allies and partners, as well as quantities and types of Patriot, NASAMS, and any other systems.\n\nGiven the heavy delays in the defense industrial base already, by how long will this diversion delay U.S. military force development efforts to optimize the Joint Force for a denial defense along the first island chain? Please include assessments with respect to both air and missile defense platforms and munitions stocks.\n\nHow does the Joint Force propose to execute the Joint Warfighting Concept\u2014especially Agile Combat Employment\u2014in the Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility against China given the consequent deficiencies in air and missile defense forces?\n\nWhen can Taiwan expect to receive additional Patriot, NASAMS, and other air and missile defense systems on which it is still waiting?\n\nWhat is your assessment of the military balance between the United States and China, and U.S. forces\u2019 current ability to defeat a Chinese invasion of Taiwan?\n\nHow would the fall of Taiwan affect America\u2019s ability to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific? Is DoD developing plans for a scenario in which China has seized Taiwan?\n\nWhat is your assessment of the military balance between the United States and China, and U.S. forces\u2019 current ability to defeat a Chinese invasion of Taiwan?", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:32:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-bashes-biden-admin-for-prioritizing-ukraine-over-air-defense-against-china/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9332150220870972, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}