00:00As China ramps up its military activities around Taiwan, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told a Senate hearing that deterrence and alliances remain key to Taiwan's security.
00:12And I think deterrence obviously begins with Taiwan's own self-defense capabilities.
00:17And the harder they are to take militarily, the more time I think they buy for themselves in that regard.
00:23I think it continues by having a credible regional deterrent, not just the United States, but Japan and other allied countries around the world.
00:32Rubio's comments come as Taiwan's president, Lai Ching-de, marked his first year in office, prompting China to reiterate that unification across the Taiwan Strait is inevitable.
00:43The U.S.'s top diplomat also said regional security in the Indo-Pacific hinges on stability worldwide.
00:49We have to understand that any time there's a conflict in the Middle East or a conflict in Europe or what have you, that we have to dedicate resources and time to that.
00:58That's time and resources that we're not dedicating to the Indo-Pacific.
01:02During the Senate hearing, Rubio stressed that the top priority is ending the war in Ukraine so that more resources can be used to resolve long-term issues in the Indo-Pacific.
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