Department Press Briefing – March 11, 2024

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First, we must employ all the tools at our disposal to outcompete China wherever possible. The FY25 request will allow us to continue to invest in the foundations of our strength at home aligned with likeminded partners to strengthen our shared interests and address the challenges posed by the PRC and harness those assets to compete with the PRC and defend our interests. We are aligning our foreign assistance to advance U.S. values by building a network of likeminded allies and partners both globally and with concerted focus on the Indo-Pacific as a region of vital importance to the U.S. and global security and prosperity.

The $4 billion discretionary request across foreign assistance and diplomatic engagement for the Indo-Pacific Strategy represents our ironclad commitment to advancing an affirmative vision of U.S. values for the region. While many aspects of the discretionary request help advance this goal, discretionary resources alone cannot meet this need. It is imperative to our national security that we also have mandatory, reliable funding to outcompete China, and that is why the request also includes $4 billion over five years in mandatory funding to enable the United States to invest in new ways to outcompete China and focus on new and critical investments split between two important funds.

We are requesting $2 billion to create a new international infrastructure fund which will outcompete China by providing a credible, reliable alternative to PRC options while also expanding markets and opportunities for U.S. businesses. This fund will support transformative, quality, and sustainable hard infrastructure projects. Additionally, we are seeking $2 billion to make game-changing investments in the Indo-Pacific to strengthen partner economies, improve good governance and the rule of law, bolster connectivity between partner countries, and support their efforts, including through multilateral fora, in building resilience and pushing back against predatory efforts.

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QUESTION: Thank you. This question is to follow and to clarify to both of you. The fact sheet mentioned “100.0 million for an historic investment in Taiwan’s security including new bilateral Foreign Military Financing request, to strengthen deterrence and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.” Can we please have a breakdown? Does that include a permanent training mission by the U.S. Special Forces, troops in Taiwan, Republic of China? Thank you.

DEPUTY SECRETARY VERMA: I don’t – I don’t believe so. I think this is the traditional security assistance. There’s also IMET assistance. And again, you have to read that together with the totality of our assistance in the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the new mandatory funding we’ve also added.

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QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you, Matt. Two questions – China and North Korea. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference that U.S. and South Korea are more responsible for causing security anxiety to North Korea by mentioning the war on Korean Peninsula. How do you react to Wang Yi’s statement that the U.S. and South Korea are responsible?

MR MILLER: So obviously we don’t agree with that comment. It is the – it is North Korea’s repeated reckless and provocative acts that have brought instability and continue to bring instability to the Korean Peninsula, and it’s why we stand with our South Korean allies.

QUESTION: Second question. And the – the Chinese Government is forcibly sending North Korean defectors back to North Korea. What message is the United States taking in response to this?

MR MILLER: Let me take that back and get you an answer.

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Source: U.S. Department of State

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