On Capitol Hill Thursday, U.S. lawmakers interrogated military officials about vulnerabilities posed by the Chinese Communist Party, including the use of commercial tracking technology and port infrastructure.
Military leaders assured Congress that the United States is prepared to respond to near-peer adversaries, while NATO allies are boosting defense spending and replacing Chinese-made technology to safeguard critical operations. -- 📺 Watch NTD News 24/7 on cable, broadcast, and streaming: https://www.ntd.com/watch
Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. During a Senate hearing today, military commanders
faced questions about CCP-linked technology, China's presence in global ports, and whether
NATO allies are prepared to take a larger role in Europe's defense. NTD's Chris Ba reports.
North Korean troops and materiel, Iranian drone technology,
and Chinese economic support enable Moscow to sustain its war in Ukraine.
On Capitol Hill Thursday, lawmakers questioning military leaders about vulnerabilities at home
from the Chinese Communist Party, including how U.S. military equipment is tracked through
wireless tags as it moves across the country, and how prepared the U.S. is to take on China.
One of the largest manufacturers of those tags and the technology
is owned by a parent company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP could
utilize these tracking technologies to monitor our military movements. What can we do about that?
There are lots of other things that move in the commercial space,
and that itself makes it very, very hard for folks to track our equipment.
You know, with China, are we prepared with our current maritime industry
to support a long-term conflict with a near-peer adversary?
I'll tell you that if we were given the task to go today, we would all go.
Senator Ted Budd pressing the head of U.S. Transportation Command on the risks posed by
What concerns does Transcom have regarding Chinese and Russian
naval deployments and commercial investments in ports across the globe?
When it comes to the Chinese fleet deployments, we go one step further to track their
footprint infrastructure and what types of things that they put in place, mainly in seaports.
So we keep a very close eye on their electronic systems, cranes. We work with port authorities
to make sure that we know where those are, and then we operate in ways to circumvent that.
With President Trump pushing NATO allies to spend 5% of GDP on defense,
military officials updated the committee on improvements to the capabilities of Allied
forces, including the planned replacement of any technology made in China.
If allies used part of this funding to rip and replace high-tech Chinese technology,
how would that contribute to EUCOM's mission?
Senator, we want Chinese technology out of anything related with the defense of the United
States or Europe or across the alliance. And so we focus our efforts to help our allies identify
where they have Chinese technology in their information networks, particularly their
defense information networks. And then there's Chinese technology and ownership
across much of the infrastructure that folks like General Reid would rely on to flow forces
either across or into the continent.
Do all of our NATO allies share our concern about Chinese technology?
They absolutely understand the threat and the risk, and they take action.
Hearing testimony confirmed that many European allies are already meeting or approaching 5%
of GDP in defense spending, with plans to gradually build military capabilities through 2030.
Military officials say this progress will allow NATO to assume a stronger leadership role
in Europe's conventional defense, helping secure forces and infrastructure against
threats from China, Russia and other adversaries. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Chris Bobb, NTD News.
