i hope -- we need to do much quicker than that. i hope we'll come back sometime soon and have another vote. >> speaker again -- >> of course we have to get one there. you asked about empowering the speaker pro tempore. i don't think that that would be a direction necessarily that we would go. we probably might have to do something very limited, very temporary if there is really, truly, an impasse. otherwise we have a duty and responsibility to keep moving ahead. if some people think the speaker pro tempore should be empowered, he should just run and nominate him and have him run. i know patrick, he's my chairman on my financial services committee i serve on. and he doesn't -- don't believe he wants that -- the way for this to go. he wants the conference to move and figure out who our candidate is.

. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2023] [captioning performed by the tional captioning institute, which is responsible for its captn ntent and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> the house icuently in recess after members failed to elect a speaker today. they have not yet adjourned but they are not expecting another vote today. 200 voted for jim jordan. 212 forinity leader -- leader hakeem jeffries. they fell short of t 2 votes needed. 20 republicans voted for other members than jim jordan. when the house gavels in watch live coverage here on c-span. the defense department today held a briefing on the israel-hamas war with updates from deputy secretary sabrina

singh. sabrina: good afternoon. i'd like to introduce the secretary of defense who will brief you on risky behavior over the last year or so against u.s. aircraft operating lawfully in the east and south china sea region.

we will release these images and videos late they are afternoon. with that, i turn it turnover dr. rat burn. -- ratburn. >> i would like to talk about the images that depict an increase in coercive behavior in the east and south china sea. i would like to talk about why it represents such significant concern. the authoritative public assessment of the p.l.a. and role it plays in beijing's broader ambitions. this year's report will be out soon and taken together with today's announcements represents the most comprehensive depiction to date of the concerning behavior by the p.l.a.

last year's c.m.p.r. noted that fighter jets were increasingly engaging in coercive behavior this provides a much-clearer estimate of that disturbing trend. specifically since the fall of 2021, we have seen more than 180 such incidents, more in the past two years than in the decade before that. that's nearly00 cases where p.l.a. operators have performed reckless ma ma neufers discharged or shot off flares or approached too rapidly or too close to u.s. aircraft. all is part of trying to interfere with the ability of u.s. forces to operate safely in places where we and every country in the world have every right to be under international law. when you take into account cases of coercive and risky p.l.a. intercepts in other states the number increases to nearly 300 cases against u.s. ally and partner aircraft over the last two years.

let me take a moment to explain why this matters so much from our perspective. for decades, the united states has operated in the region, safely, responsibly, and accordance with international law and we'll continue to do so. our allies and partners welcome our military presence because it advances our shared vision for a free and open indo-pacific this vision which secretary austin described as the shangri-la dialogue this year is characterized by zo renty, adherence to international law, belief in transparency and openness, freedom of commerce and navigation, equal rights for all states and the resolution of disputes through peaceful mean, not through coercion or conquest. it's the peace and stability extending from this security environment that has provided the foundation for the region's share prosd perty. by contrast the p.l.a.'s coercive and risky behavior, like the kind the department is

highlighting today, seeks to intimidate and coerce members of the international community into giving up their rights under international law. it directly contradicts what the region wants for itself and it can put lives at risk, the lives of our service member, lives of our allies and partner's service members and even the lives of p.l.a. operators. each received today looked different, whether between the u.s. asset and pmpt l.a. asset engaged in risky may haver or how the p.l.a. asset behaved in any interaction. all these examples we released today underscore the coercive intent of the p.l.a. by engaging in these behaviors, particularly in international air space. the bottom line is that in many cases this type of behavior can cause accidents, and dangerous accidents can lead to inadvertent conflict. in january of this year, american aircraft was flying in the skies above the south china

sea, safely, responsibly, and in accordance with international law, hundreds of miles from land a p.l.a. jet fighter approached our asset at a speed of hundreds of miles per hour, clearly armed, closing to just 30 feet away in. fact once it was there, the p.l.a. fighter jet lingered at the narrow proximity for more than 15 minutes. just weeks before, indo pacom released video of a similar incident and for the p.l.a. to engage in this coercive, risky behavior, so soon after that incident, indeed for perform l. ample operatives to continue this behavior at all, points to what this year's cmpr will describe as, and i'm quote, a centralized and concerted campaign to perform these risky behaviors in order to coerce a change in lawful u.s. operational activity and that of u.s. allies and partners. we've also witnessed p.l.a.

pilots interfere with and create turbulence for orptors by flying at close distances. photos from an incident in january, 2022, show a p.l.a. fighter jet crossing in front of a lawfully operated u.s. asset at a distance of just 100 yards, forcing the pilot to fly through the p.l.a.'s wake. again this is at speeds of hundreds of miles per hour and altitude of tens of thousands of feet. this is not a one-off occurrence. in may of this year, indo-pacom released voof an aircraft speeding along a u.s. aircraft before cutting in front of it. you can see the effects of the turbulence on the crew. this is another sign of the p.l.a.'s coercive, risky may haver at a time when the p.l.c. has declined invitations for military-to-military communication at the senior-most

levels. u.s. planes are operating safely, responsibly and in accordance with international law. indeed the skill and professional. i of american service members should not be the only thing standing between p. l.a. fighter pilots and a dangerous, even fatal, accident. and yet, time after time, that is exactly what has prevented disaster in the east and south china seas. secretary austin has said on numerous occasions, the p.r.c. can and must end this behavior, full stop. for our part, the department will continue to raise awareness about the dangers of the p.l.a.'s coercive and risky operational behavior. we'll also continue to seek open lines of military-to-military communication with the p.l.a. at multiple levels including the senior most level. because we believe these challenges are crucial for prevents competition from inadvertently veering into conflict. finally the united states will not be deterred or coerced. we will continue to fly, sail and operate, safely and

responsibly wherever international law allows. our forces helped sustain peace and stability in the indo-pacific for decades and we will continue to do so every day so i hope today's announcement can help increase understanding here in washington, across the indo pacific and around the world about why the p.l.a.'s operational behavior is so concerning. thank you and i'll turn it other to the admiral before we open it up for questions. >> thank you for inviting me to be here today and to all of you in the audience, i've spoken to manufacture of you but not all of you. i'm honored to be here, thank you for participating. eli talked about the challenges that exist as it applies to the p.l.c. activity described in the report. i'm here to talk about these concerns from my perspective as commander of u.s. paco -- of indo pacom.

our soldiers operate every day in order to prevent conflict. that is prevent conflict. not provoke it. now we do that in order to execute our functions and our missions and that is to maintain a free an open done pacific. that free and open indo-pacific enables peace, prosperity and stability for all the nations in the region. and we've done that for eight decades. done-pacom deters conflict by being ready every day, whether it's our war fighting capabilities, operations, our relationships with our allies and partners, and our exercises. let me point out that our joint force is highly trained, disciplined and professional. our air operations are planned, rehearsed and executed safely every day. as the join force commander i'm most concerned about the potential for accidents the way

dr. ratner explained them. those accidents could lead to miscalculation. we must prevent these from happening in the theater. so let me be clear. intercepts happen every day around the world. the vast majority are conducting safely and without incident. and there's no reasons for the intercepts with the p.r.c. in the indo-pacific region to be any different. i'm here today because it's operational commanders number one responsibility to ensure the safety of our service members. and it's a responsibility i take very seriously. so highlighting these behaviors, and ensuring that we can prevent them, is a top priority. i want to thank you again for allowing me to be here today and i look forward to your questions.

>> a quick note at the top, keep your questions to the topic. reporter: how concerned are you that you will not have the assets you need given that there's two carriers. how will we can't to deter china. and for dr. ratner, given that there's a second conflict have you been able to speak to any of your partners or allies about increasing production to get more 155's since now israel and ukraine will need them. >> let me start first, it is incredibly sad to watch the actions of the terrorists in the middle east. it's also sad to watch the illegitimate, illegal war in ukraine that's been initiated by the russians. as it applies to the

indo-pacific and my responsibility, what i'll tell you is i haven't had one piece of equipment or force structure depart the united states as a global power. and that means we can deliver effects and execute our deterrence responsibilities across the globe. i don't think any other nation can do that. at this time. but the united states can. oh by the way, the indo-pacific command has two aircraft carriers right now at sea as well. along with a large portion of the joint force executing deterrence missions in my theater. >> maybe i'll just follow up. i'll stay away from questions about issues related to other theaters and discussions with our allies and partners. what i will say about this question, what is the events in other parts of the world mean for our policy and strategy in the indo-pacific and as it relates to the p.r.c., which is

that look, we have a 2022 national defense strategy which is described the p.r.c. as the department-facing challenge. that remains true today. we have a presidential budget request for the department that reflecks that strategy a strategy-driven budget. we have been, in addition to those investments, developing new operational concepts, relevant to the region. we have been developing a more mobile distributed lethal and resilient force posture in the indo-pacific. we had a banner year in that regard over the last 12 months. a lot of great work with indo-pacom. in the meantime we have been deepening our alliances and partnerships in the region and to a t, our key alliances and partnerships in the region are stronger than they have ever been. as a result of that activity, you have likely heard department leaders say repeatedly, we

believe deterrence is real. deterrence is strong. we're doing everything we can to keep it that way. reporter: is there concern in the region that while having to engage in both ukraine and israel there might be reduced capability to meet whatever threat is faced by -- the same countries by china >> we have been taking a number of steps to strengthen our commitment to the region, strengthen our deterrence in the region, and we will continue to do that. reporter: admiral, has you seen indications or intel that the china -- chinese are looking at this period of not distraction but just focus on the middle east and can observe an opening for potential invasion of taiwan but operations against the island. and how many of what you described are unsafe and unprofessional? that's been the standard by which we measured dangerous may havers. risky seems summittive whereas

unprofessional is what we're used to as a metric for what is dangerous. >> first, thanks, i'm not going to discuss any intel i've seen. historically, all nations look at what's going on in the geopolitical space, the military space, and i would expect there to be lessoned learned. inodo-pacom prepares every day to ensure we execute both of the missions the secretary gave me. number one, to prevent conflict in the indo-pacific and number two, if mission one failings, be prepared to fight and win. those actions go on each and every day in indo-pacom. we expect all nations to be watching these actions and determining how that best fits into their future. that said, my forces are ready today. >> just in response to your question, we have a very specific set of criteria that we

use to articulate and describe particular behaviors. that is classified. it should remain classified. and what we are presenting today is a set of activities that we believe exhibit observable behavior and that we have cataloged along the lines that i have described. look, i understand the desire for exactly how many of these, what's the exact number. one is too many. that's our view here at the department. we have provided and will be on pentagon website if it's not up already. it will be 15 specific incidences, cataloging over the period from the fall of 2021 through today. the most recent case in september. every one of these is one too many. reporter: thank you. president xi jinping and russian president putin summit will be held in beijing, also north

korea and russia holding a ministers' meeting tomorrow. how do you analyze the strength and the cooperation and solidarity between north korea, china, and russia? >> thank you. first, we watch very closely the cooperation and certainly the concern from done pay come -- indo pacom is the no limits relationship between p.r.c. and russia the inability to denounce bad actions globally. and their increased cooperation exercises and we watch that very closely so two authoritarian powers working that closely together is concerning. secondly on north korea and russia work the transfer of weapons and capabilities that you have seen and been written about in the media is