Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

NATO

The US is holding European countries accountable for contributing their share of the NATO budget, according to Secretary of State Michel Pompeo. He added that in a second Trump Administration the US will be an active member of the organization. “I think General Secretary Stoltenberg, the leader of NATO, said there is now $400 billion more that will be invested into NATO. It’s a direct result of President Trump’s leadership. NATO is stronger under President Trump than it has been in previous administrations,” said Pompeo.

CHINA

According to the Department of Defense China now has the world’s largest Navy. There are some discrepancies when it comes to ship-to-ship equivalence, but China is developing a world-class blue water Navy. In a recent interview, Pompeo said that this is something that has been ongoing for a long time but that is accelerating. “The good news…,” he added, “…is President Trump has made sure that we have the capabilities that we need, whether it’s the designation of the Space Force so that we have the capacity to compete there, the work that we’re doing to make it more difficult for China to use Huawei and its technology to pose threats to us as well, they’re connected in their civil and military efforts, or simply the fact that we have now spent more than $700 billion two years running to make sure that our military has the capability that it needs.

Pompeo does worry about the Chinese Communist Party increasing military capacity, he said. But he also is confident that President Trump will put the US in a position to make sure that America is safe.

EQUADOR

The Galapagos Islands are being threatened by overfishing from Chinese commercial fleets that have encroached on Equador’s exclusive economic zone which is a fragile environmental area. Currently, there are 274 Chinese fishing vessels inside Equadoran waters. Pompeo called this predatory economic activity and added that “This is another exemplar, whether it’s in Africa and the predatory activities taking place in Africa, they – the Chinese Communist Party model today is to do what has been part of Chinese history for a long time: to create vassal states, tributary states that have to pay tribute to Beijing as the Middle Kingdom.” Pompeo said that the us has been working on a diplomatic solution for months to avoid an open conflict.

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VENEZUELA

In a statement released from Secretary Pompeo he said that “The Maduro regime’s announcement of conditional dismissal of criminal charges against roughly one-third of the political prisoners it holds does not solve, nor even address, Venezuela’s underlying political crisis. Hundreds of political prisoners remain, and like those now offered house arrest or an end (for the moment) to their criminal cases, none of these Venezuelans should ever have been imprisoned for a single day.”

He pointed out that the condition of democracy in Venezuela remains “dire.” The dismissal of charges are conditional, according to Pompeo, meaning that Venezuelan officials have threatened to rescind the benefit if any individuals “return to any act of terrorism, violence, or coup-mongering,” as arbitrarily determined by the regime.

Conditions for free and fair elections do not exist in Venezuela and the release of a number of political prisoners does not change that, according to the State Department. “None of the political parties whose leadership was removed and their names, symbols, and assets stolen by the regime have been restored, including parties from the left that challenge the regime’s control of Chavez’s political legacy,” noted Pompeo. Many politicians who oppose the Maduro regime still are not allowed to run for public office nor have they had their political rights restored. There is no freedom of the press or expression, or assembly in the country.

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Alienating Allies

President Biden has called two key U.S. allies, India and Japan, “xenophobic.” As noted in a Hill report “Biden grouped Japan and India alongside China and Russia as ‘xenophobic countries,’ claiming being less open to immigrants has caused the countries’ economies to struggle since the COVID-19 pandemic.” The comment comes at a time when both of those nations are essential to American goals in the Indo-Pacific, including countering China’s massive arms buildup, North Korea’s growing nuclear prowess, and Russia’s increased presence in the region. China now has a larger fleet than the United States, and has powerful assistance from Russia. The U.S. State Department warns that “Across much of the Indo-Pacific region, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using military and economic coercion to bully its neighbors, advance unlawful maritime claims, threaten maritime shipping lanes, and destabilize territory along the periphery of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This predatory conduct increases the risk of miscalculation and conflict.” Alexey Muraviev, writing for the Asia Times notes that “China is not the only potentially adversarial maritime power that is flexing its muscles in the Indo-Pacific region. Russia is becoming a cause for concern, too, even though the 2023 strategic review did not mention it….Between 2022 and October 2023, for instance, it commissioned eight new warships and auxiliaries, including four nuclear-powered and conventional submarines. On December 11, two new nuclear-powered submarines formally joined the fleet, in addition to the conventional RFS Mozhaisk submarine, which entered service last month.” Biden making a comment that directly and clearly harms both U.S. interests and those of key allies is hardly surprising, as evidenced by his bizarre actions regarding Israel. The Department of Defense states that “ Japan is growing and taking leadership roles that not only benefit people in the Indo-Pacific, but the global community, said Grace Park, the director for Japan policy at the Defense Department’s Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Office said… Japan, the fourth largest economy in the world, has taken a greater security role in the past decade, Park said. Japanese leaders are reorganizing the self-defense forces in the country, fielding new military capabilities, increasing the amount spent on self-defense and more. “I believe that the United States has gained a lot from this alliance relationship,” she said. It will soon play an even more significant role. The Department of Defense reports that “The U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom, members of the AUKUS partnership, are considering cooperation with Japan on advanced capabilities projects. …Japan was considered because of its strengths and its close defense partnership with all three countries, said Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh, who held a press conference today. Japan is playing a larger role in other essential American alliances, as well. As reported in the American Military News, “The Philippines and the United States are considering the expansion of their annual “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) military exercises carried out under the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States, to include Japan. As this column has previously reported, India’s population, military strength, and strategic geographical location render it one of the world’s most important nations. The Pentagon notes that “Over the past decade, the U.S.-India defense relationship has become indispensable in promoting peace, prosperity and stability in the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region.” Since the start of his Administration, President Biden has consistently engaged in policies and actions that have emboldened America’s adversaries and alienating and worried allies. The consistency of his inexplicable course of action is now clear, and the U.S. citizenry deserves an immediate explanation. The highly partisan U.S. media has, until the current holdup of aid to Israel, turned a blind eye to Biden’s destructive foreign policies, allowing him to progress from one disaster to another. Illustration: Pixabay