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The Future of the Indo-Pacific: Views from the Senate

The Wilson Center hosted a discussion with Senators Cory Gardner and Edward J. Markey, the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.

Date & Time

Thursday
Feb. 14, 2019
9:00am – 10:00am ET

Location

6th Floor, Woodrow Wilson Center
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Overview

With President Trump preparing for his second summit with Kim Jong Un and tensions between China and the United States continuing to intensify, the Indo-Pacific is again at the forefront of American foreign policy debates. The Wilson Center hosted a discussion with Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.

Selected Quotes 

Senator Gardner

“I look at [the U.S.-China relationship] like a skipping stone. When you throw that skipping stone at the water that smooths the surface, every time there’s a bounce in the relationship, there’s going to be this ripple. The ripple is the economic effect, the security effect, the trade effects that other nations feel around the globe. Ideally, the relationship between the United States and China would be one that it is the calm at the end of the skip, where it’s settled and everything is flowing and everything is moving and you don't have that disturbance that you see today.” 

“I am not a big fan of tariffs. I think they are the wrong thing to do. So, we have to rethink how we’re associating with our allies – Europe, Southeast Asia, and others – to force a change of behavior, because not only does it hurt the U.S., but it hurts the other trade partners [and] nations around the globe who face the same kind of barriers that China is imposing.”  

Senator Markey

“I remain a doubter. And again, our intelligence community is saying to us quite clearly that it is not [North Korea’s] intention, ultimately, to give up their nuclear capability. I think we should respect that [assessment]… I am not optimistic, because all Kim is doing is just following what his father and grandfather did, which is essentially a nuclear rope-a-dope strategy.”   

More to come...

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Hosted By

Indo-Pacific Program

The Indo-Pacific Program promotes policy debate and intellectual discussions on US interests in the Asia-Pacific as well as political, economic, security, and social issues relating to the world’s most populous and economically dynamic region.   Read more

Kissinger Institute on China and the United States

The Kissinger Institute works to ensure that China policy serves American long-term interests and is founded in understanding of historical and cultural factors in bilateral relations and in accurate assessment of the aspirations of China’s government and people.  Read more

Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy

The Center for Korean History and Public Policy was established in 2015 with the generous support of the Hyundai Motor Company and the Korea Foundation to provide a coherent, long-term platform for improving historical understanding of Korea and informing the public policy debate on the Korean peninsula in the United States and beyond.  Read more

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