Young Kim Asks Expert How NATO Can Best Deter Against Combined Military, Tech Threat Of China-Russia

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During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last week, Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) questioned Mark Montgomery, CCTI Senior Director and Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, about deterrence against China and Russia.

Transcript

00:00This hearing and thank you for joining us today. I want to ask my first question to Mr. Montgomery.

00:08You know, NATO's ability to deter threats from Russia depends on a robust and responsive

00:14defense industrial base. However, Europe's defense industries face critical vulnerabilities

00:19in supply chains, production capacity, and procurement strategies as highlighted by

00:26Russia's war against Ukraine. And with some NATO allies still falling short of the 2% GDP defense

00:33spending pledge, that also limits investments in modernization and readiness. So can you talk about

00:40the specific steps that NATO allies can take to address any vulnerabilities in Europe's defense

00:47industrial base, especially when it comes to critical munitions and advanced systems production?

00:53Thank you for bringing that up. And you're absolutely right. You know, as we look, as we

00:59sourced Ukraine over the last three years, 95% of the U.S., what U.S. provided was U.S. equipment,

01:07but more than 50% of what, of the Western equipment provided by the Europeans was U.S. equipment.

01:13They do not have an effective defense industrial base. I also don't believe they can properly

01:17conceive of what is needed. It took you, Congress, 40 years to build the current defense industrial

01:23base and trillions and trillions of dollars in direct investment. And the Europeans have

01:28not made those commitments. And when I hear President Macron talk about a European solution

01:33to this, the amount of money he discusses is way too low. So the truth is the Europeans

01:37going to need to rely on us for over the next decade to rearm themselves. And they're also

01:42going to need to build their own defense industrial base.

01:44We have some specific ideas as to how United States can help European allies in overcoming

01:50those shortfalls. And at the same time, we need to ensure the interoperability within

01:57our alliance.

01:57I think we should take the example we have right now with Reinmantel, a German artillery

02:03firm, which is partnered with U.S. firms so that they can scale their production properly.

02:09So what I think is joint ventures between U.S. companies and European companies that build

02:13both in the United States for jobs in the United States, but also in Europe for jobs in Europe

02:17with that European money. That is the most logical, cost-efficient way. It's not what the

02:22French are proposing. But I think long-term, that's how NATO needs to settle out.

02:26MS. Next, I want to talk about Russia and China. In your testimony, Mr. Montgomery,

02:33you made it very clear that Russia under Putin is the, in quote, single greatest threat to

02:39peace and democracy in Europe. You also noted the role that China has played in helping sustain

02:45Russia's war in Ukraine and providing dual-use technologies and economic support. So we know

02:52China is bolstering Russia's defense industry base with microelectronics, telecommunications equipment,

02:58and drone technology. So in that context, how should NATO adapt its deterrence and defense strategies

03:06so they can address the combined military and technological threats posed by Russia-China partnership?

03:11MR. No, you're exactly right. What I was saying there is that Ukraine is actually fighting four countries right now,

03:17Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. And I would say most of us think North Korea and Iran are the next biggest problems.

03:23They're not. It's China. China's backstopping Russia's economy. They've increased their imports and exports more than 30 percent.

03:30As you said, they provided the microelectronics. They're going to KH-10 – into cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

03:35They're striking Ukraine every night. We absolutely have to hold China accountable for its support to Ukraine.

03:42Is there specific capabilities or partnerships that NATO should prioritize to counter those threats?

03:48MR. Yeah. So I do believe it's – NATO's role in an Asia-Pacific context will be very European in nature – very economic in nature, I'm sorry.

03:57So what we need to do is start working together on how we sanction and export control China properly.

04:05And we need to get the Europeans more engaged in that and committed as we are.

04:08One more question regarding the NATO and Western Balkans.

04:12The Western Balkans is a critical region for NATO's efforts to promote stability and counter-external influence.

04:18Russia has intensified its efforts to undermine NATO and EU integration in countries like Serbia.

04:26using disinformation, economic leverage, and political interference.

04:30So what specific strategies should NATO employ to counter-Russia influence in the Western Baltics or Balkans,

04:37and particularly in Serbia, as I mentioned, and where the, you know, favorable perceptions of Russia are growing,

04:44especially, like I said, in Serbia?

04:46MR. Well, I think you're exactly right.

04:48President Putin has supported both Vucic in Serbia and Dudik in Republic Srpski.

04:54We need to fully support Kosovo in its efforts to enter the European Union and NATO.

04:59But more importantly, we need to ensure that the stabilizing force, NATO's K4 force in Kosovo,

05:05is properly manned and equipped to do its job to provide the warning that's necessary

05:09so that Washington can hold Serbia accountable for threats to Kosovo.

05:14Thank you very much.

05:14My time's up.

05:15I yield back.

05:17All right.

05:17Now, right.

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