Thank you.
Hello, Your Excellency. I'm a rather new member to the committee, so I wasn't present when you appeared before this committee in September 2023.
I have reviewed the previous testimony from last year, when you said the following:
No region in the world is exempt from the geopolitical complexities we face today. What is happening in the Indo-Pacific is unavoidably related to what is taking place in other parts of the world and vice versa, notably in Ukraine, central Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
You went on to say:
The most unnerving geopolitical risks today are to be found in either the Russia-Ukraine war, the U.S.-China rivalry or the North Korean aggression and tension in the Taiwan Strait.
In your opinion, is the situation in the Indo-Pacific region different today? If so, in what ways is it different?