DECEMBER 5, 2023 – The Defense Department provides security assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, but Congress could pass a budget with supplementary funding that would ensure robust continuation of that support, said Navy Adm. Christopher W. Grady.
Grady, vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, spoke yesterday at the Atlantic Council.
“Continuing resolution are not where we want to be. We need stable and predictable funding” for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, but also for DOD readiness and modernization, he said.
On a separate topic, Grady commented about China’s claim today that the littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords illegally entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a tiny island in the South China Sea claimed by both China and the Philippines.
Grady said that the United States will continue to operate in international waters in accordance with international law, and that includes the South China Sea, as well as the Taiwan Strait.
The U.S. is blessed to have allies and partners in that and other regions, he added. It’s a strategic advantage that China doesn’t have.
Grady noted that although he heads the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, there’s also a new International Joint Requirements Oversight Council that meets and leverages the advantages of acquisition strategy with allies and partners.
There have been two meetings of the IJROC, he said. “We are establishing requirements that we can work through together.”
By David Vergun , DOD News