Murkowski to DoD Officials: Americans Deserve to Know Why Chinese Spy Balloon Wasn’t Shot Down Over Alaska
In Alaska, “We’re Ready” and “Proud” of Our Defense Capabilities
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today raised questions to Department of Defense (DoD) officials regarding the Chinese surveillance balloon during a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee Oversight Hearing.
In her opening statement, Senator Murkowski noted that “Alaska is the first line of defense for America,” and asked DoD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Jedidiah Royal, “Why was the state that is the first line of defense not able to keep the rest of the country from being more vulnerable when it came to collection of intelligence as [the Chinese spy balloon] flew over important installations?”
Senator Murkowski, who noted that while “we’re ready” to defend the U.S. in Alaska, said “It’s like this administration doesn’t think that Alaska is part of the rest of the country…[the U.S.] sent a clear message China: ‘you’ve got free range in Alaska.’”
Murkowski also raised her concerns over what have been identified as data gaps and pressed DoD officials to commit to addressing them.
Click here or on the image above to watch Senator Murkowski’s remarks during the hearing.
Background:
As a senior defense appropriator, Senator Murkowski has been focused on building and sustaining the capabilities of our Arctic Warriors, and pushing to get Alaska NORAD all the tools it needs to protect Alaska and America’s sovereignty.
On Saturday, February 4, Senator Murkowski released a statement on the Chinese surveillance balloon on social media: “Taking this Chinese surveillance balloon down was the right call and I commend all who played a role in the successful execution of that mission. I look forward to being fully briefed on the incident, but find it unacceptable that the balloon crossed into U.S. airspace over Alaska en route to the Lower 48. This is only the latest example of why I have been so focused on building and sustaining the capabilities of our Arctic Warriors. Strong footing in America’s Arctic is key to deterring all forms of Chinese aggression. As a senior defense appropriator, I will continue to push to get Alaska NORAD all the tools it needs to protect our sovereignty.”
Other Key Moments During Senator Murkowski’s Remarks:
- “As an Alaskan, I am so angry. I want to use other words, but I'm not going to. The fact of the matter is, Alaska is the first line of defense for America, right? If you're going to have Russia come at you, if you're going to have China coming at you, we know exactly how they come. They come up, and they go over Alaska. Sometimes they go on the top sometimes they go straight across, but Alaska is it. And thank goodness the Pentagon, the Department of Defense have recognized where we sit on the globe to take care of the rest of this country. And thank goodness that we have invested the resources to make sure that we have the eyes on the skies and everyplace else, more fifth generation fighters sitting there in the state of Alaska, we know that, we're proud of it.”
- “Everything that we do to stay focused, whether it's Cobra Dane out in the Aleutians, or whether it's Clear Air Force Base that has long-range discrimination radar, or out in Greeley, where we have the ground-based missile defense—we're ready.”
- “It's like this administration doesn't think that Alaska is any part of the rest of the country. Yet, to get to the United States, you've got to come through Alaska.
- “And so, think about it from Alaska's perspective. You said, Ms. Dalton, that we sent a clear message to the PRC when we shot this down in our sovereign waters. Seems to me the clear message to China is: ‘we got free range in Alaska. Because they're going to let us cruise over that until it gets to more sensitive areas.’”
- “I think that the American public deserve more than they have seen in terms of transparency, about why this spy balloon was allowed to spend two days over our waters and over the state of Alaska, the state that is the guardian for everybody else. And you're saying at that time, there was not a threat to Alaska's citizens or assets that we have…At what point do we say, a surveillance balloon, a spy balloon coming from China, is a threat to our sovereignty? It should be the minute it crosses the line, and that line is Alaska.”
- “I think people in this country deserve to know why the state that is the first line of defense was not able to keep the rest of the country from being more vulnerable when it came to collection of intelligence as it flew over important installations.”
