'How Do We Continue To Make That More Effective?': Hoeven Asks Hung Cao About Hormuz Blockade

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[00:00:01]Senator Hoven's, and then we're going to go to the Democratic side and take several of them in order. Thank you for giving us a chance.

[00:00:11]My thanks as well. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[00:00:15]And I'd like to start with Secretary Koh. Um with the blockade that we have in the Middle East right now in the Strait of Hormuz, how do we continue to make that more effective in in your opinion? How can we make that sufficiently effective so that we constrain not only constrain Iran from moving any of their ships in and out of the Gulf, but that we open the Gulf for other shipping?

[00:00:45]Senator, thank you for that question.

[00:00:47]You're You're right. I mean, doing a blockade is very tough, and I will turn over to the Chief of Naval Operations in a second for tactics, techniques, and procedures while we do that. But, you know, there's a lot of things we can leverage including I think unmanned unmanned surface platforms will be important as well as maritime domain awareness, but I will turn over to the Chief of Naval Operations.

[00:01:08]>> Where I'm going with I mean obviously the pressure on us is is gasoline prices, right? And And that's what That's really the only lever that Iran has left. And that's to create enough uncertainty so that the ships can't transit the strait. But, if we take that away and we not only bottle them up, but we open up traffic, then the the pressure's off us and the blockade pressure continues. Whatever kinetic steps we decide to take over and beyond that, we'll see what the administration decides. But, that truly keeps the pressure on them increasingly so and it takes away from us. So, you know, as their terrible regime says, "Oh, well, our people are used to suffering."

[00:01:53]You know, and so they they think they can outlast us.

[00:01:56]So, how do we flip that equation? That's what I'm getting at.

[00:02:01]Well, sir, the the blockade has probably been the single most important military operation we've done to try to get negotiations to the place where they even are. And we're getting better at it. We're getting more efficient at it.

[00:02:12]>> We are. That comes with really good rules of engagement, really good at understanding how to determine this. It comes from uh artificial intelligent um enabled common operational picture to actually know who we go after, intel deep intelligence, and then the ability to utilize security forces to board if necessary or disable if necessary leakers. So, that's important. But, to open the flow of commerce to um partners who want to leave the Strait of Hormuz, and and where though we know there been mines emplaced, so that's challenging for them. If we go try to do escort with that, we have looked into that. That's a very challenging mission in that narrow strait when it's contested. And so, when you're in a contested environment to de-mine the Strait of Hormuz or to do escort duty is not something that's easy to do. So, we're going to have to get to a place that the that that strait is open with a generally accepted ceasefire before that can be turned on in mass.

[00:03:09]>> So, are you saying you can't it's not in your opinion, you're not able to completely uh open the strait and maintain the blockade other than through some type of agreement, ceasefire? I think >> Militarily, can we do it? Are there things that you can continue to do to enhance your ability on that blockade and control the strait to mitigate the risk for ships to go through? The There are many things we can continue doing to enhance the blockade. And but to actually start doing something where I'm providing escort services through a contested strait will will in my military opinion exceed the capacity of the uh Navy to do that effectively.

[00:03:47]>> Escorts, I understand, but every step you take that uh creates more opportunity for ships to flow other than the ones we blockade, puts pressure on them, and relieves pressure on us.

[00:03:56]>> and that's that goes down to servicing their mine layers. You know, we've we've shot a lot of them, and that takes a lot of intel and a lot of uh dynamic targeting to do that effectively, and we continue to do that.

[00:04:08]We have to continue our expeditionary uh UUV-enabled demining operations. So, all those things come together to give us confidence that that commercial shipping can transit that strait safely. Yeah.

[00:04:22]Uh General uh Smith, um kind of the same question, but reverse.

[00:04:30]I was in Taiwan, I've been in Japan, South Korea fairly recently.

[00:04:35]Increasingly, China is creating a de facto blockade around Taiwan.

[00:04:40]Just with live-fire exercises, with, you know, their ship exercises, aircraft exercises, on and on and on.

[00:04:48]De facto, they're increasingly doing that.

[00:04:52]Other than making Taiwan a porcupine, what other steps are effective in slowing that down, preventing it, stopping it, addressing it?

[00:05:01]Well, sir, your your last point about a porcupine defense does work. Um nobody wants to bite into a porcupine.

[00:05:07]>> So, back to what uh Senator Kennedy was talking about.

[00:05:10]>> Yes, sir. You want to have a a deep missile depth. You want to make it It's one thing to start across the straits.

[00:05:16]It's another thing to get to the shore of Taiwan, and it's another thing to get from the shore to the capital. And so, what we're doing is is we are working closely with our allies and partners to ensure that every step of that possible action by the PRC is contested.

[00:05:34]>> The Marines at Okinawa are doing incredible work, and you don't realize how amazing uh the work there is they're doing, and and what they're doing on land and sea. The whole drone thing is a huge, huge part of that, and change in everything, air and water. It's unbelievable. Congratulations to your guys and thanks to all three of you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to our colleagues.