Thread by @joshrogin

.@SecDef Austin: “We’re seeing growing coercion from Beijing. We’ve witnessed a steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan. That includes PLA aircraft flying near Taiwan in record numbers in recent months—and on a nearly daily basis.” #sld22

.@SecDef Austin: “We do not seek confrontation or conflict. And we do not seek a new Cold War, an Asian NATO, or a region split into hostile blocs.” #sld22 @IISS_org

.@SecDef Austin: “We’re seeing PRC vessels plunder the region’s provisions, operating illegally within the territorial waters of other Indo-Pacific countries.” #sld22

.@SecDef Austin: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is what happens when oppressors trample the rules that protect us all…. And it’s a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in.” #sld22