WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) questioned experts about the core motivations of China and Russia, and their recommendations on how best to respond to Chinese and Russian efforts to exert influence across the globe. Witnesses at today’s hearing included Elbridge Colby, Director of the Defense Program at Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development; Ely Ratner, Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at CNAS and Former Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President; and Damon M. Wilson, Executive Vice President of the Atlantic Council.

“There’s a fundamental question that I’ve asked several times in this committee…What does China want?” said Senator King. “In other words, we’re building up our military, they’re building up their military on the assumption that we’re both defending against the other. And my question is, are they looking for economic hegemony in the world? In the region? Are they looking for territorial conquest? I mean I think of China as differently motivated than Russia, for example. Can one of you give a minute or so on what China wants and then perhaps follow up… I would love to see some scholarly work on this. Because I think we need to understand our potential adversary’s motivations in order to formulate a strategy…”

Following the discussion on China, Senator King posed the following question to the witnesses: “Is there anything that Vladimir Putin would like better than the U.S. withdrawing from NATO?” Both Mr. Wilson and Mr. Colby asserted that the dissolution of NATO is a key piece of Russia’s long-term goals. Senator King is a member of the Senate North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Observer Group, which monitors NATO commitments and capabilities and ensures that the Senate is kept informed of NATO work.

Earlier today, Senator King took part in a hearing in the Intelligence Committee on a variety of threats facing the United States. During that hearing, Senator King specifically highlighted the threats posed by increased cooperation between China and Russia, stating “If those two countries begin to work together systemically, that that could be a big problem for us.”

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator King is recognized as a thoughtful voice on national security and foreign policy issues in the Senate. In addition to his committee work, he serves on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and the Cyberspace Solarium Commission.