U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, "(Webcast) Recent Developments in China's Relations with Taiwan and North Korea," June 5, 2014

Thursday, June 05, 2014
608 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20002

Hearing Co-Chairs: Commissioner Daniel M. Slane and Commissioner Katherine C. Tobin, Ph.D.

PREPARED STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER KATHERINE C. TOBIN

Good morning, everyone. On behalf of my fellow commissioners I would like to welcome you to the final hearing of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s 2014 Annual Report cycle. This hearing will examine recent economic, political, and security developments in cross-Strait and China-North Korea relations.

We’ll begin by taking a look at economic and political issues in cross-Strait relations. Among other topics, the first panel will discuss the opportunities and risks of closer cross-Strait economic integration for Taiwan and the United States.

The second panel will focus on cross-Strait military and security issues. It will examine Taiwan’s ability to defend against kinetic and nonkinetic military coercion by China as well as other topics regarding the Taiwan-China-United States security relationship.

After our lunch break, we’ll turn to China-North Korea relations. The third panel will conclude this hearing with a discussion of whether China’s views and policies toward North Korea have changed in recent years and the implications for U.S. security interests.

Before we introduce our guests for the first panel, the Commission would like to thank the Senate Budget Committee, Chairwoman Patty Murray, and the Committee staff for securing this room for us today.

Panel I: Cross-Strait Economic and Political Issues
Ms. JoAnn Fan, Visiting Fellow, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Rupert Hammond-Chambers, President, U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, Arlington, VA
Dr. Vincent Wei-cheng Wang, Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA

Panel II: Cross-Strait Military and Security Issues
Mr. William Murray, Associate Research Professor, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI
Mr. Ian Easton, Research Fellow, The Project 2049 Institute, Arlington, VA
Mr. David Firestein, Perot Fellow and Vice President for the Strategic Trust-Building Initiative and Track 2 Diplomacy, EastWest Institute, Washington, D.C.

Panel III: China and North Korea
Ms. Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt,Director of Asia-Pacific Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Sue Mi Terry, Senior Research Scholar, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY
Ambassador Joseph DeTrani, President, Intelligence and National Security Alliance, Arlington, VA

You can see a video fo the hearing at: http://www.uscc.gov/Hearings/webcast-recent-developments-china%E2%80%99s-relations-taiwan-and-north-korea-0