Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

CHINA

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its proxies aim to make Americans receptive to Beijing’s form of authoritarianism, according to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. In a Thursday interview he said the CCP “is hard at work at the state level.” Pompeo pointed out that they have rated every government essentially a friend, foe or somewhere in between. They also are evaluating whether American governors are working in ways that benefit them, he said. In the United States the CCP works actively to develop relationships with state elected officials. When the Secretary was in Wisconsin on Wednesday, he talked about China’s using their “United Front development programs to undermine our democracy and to move the direction of opinion in the direction of their authoritarian regime.” Washington is working to actively push back on aggressive moves conducted by China inside the US.

IRAN

President Obama and Vice President Biden entered into a bad nuclear deal in Iran. Pompeo said it was “just crazy,” as it presented a clear pathway to a nuclear weapon, and that this was unacceptable for the security of the Middle East, Israel, and the United States.

The Trump Administration has “flipped the script,” according to Pompeo, and spent the last three years and few months working to “deny the regime the money, the resources, the wealth, the capacity to build that nuclear weapon.” Pompeo argued that it won’t happen while President Trump is in office. He said that America is safer now, and that the Administration has created the conditions for the good news out of the Middle East earlier in the month concerning the UAE-Israeli relations.

President Trump previously had said the US took out Qasem Soleimani, one of the premier architects of the terror campaign around the world, and “there is no reason to not continue the diplomatic, economic, and security efforts that this administration has undertaken over these years.” It has weakened the regime and made America safer, according to Pompeo. He added that the United States welcomes the return of virtually all previously terminated UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror and anti-Semitism.

ISRAEL/BAHRAIN/UAE

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For 40 years the West believed that pace and stability in the Middle East were not possible until the Israel-Palestinian problem was resolved. It served as an informal “precondition” for improved relationships among Israelis and Arabs. Pompeo said: “The Abraham Accords are the classic overnight success that took forever.”

President Trump, according to Pompeo, “knew that couldn’t be the case, and so for several years we’ve been working on a set of actions that would create conditions where great leaders like the crown prince and the United Arab Emirates and the senior leadership in Bahrain now have acknowledged that Israel has a right to exist, that it is the Jewish homeland, and they want to do business with them and they want to have diplomatic relationships with them and economic and security relationships.” With the Abraham Accords there now is a decreased risk in the Middle East and more opportunities for peace, according to the Secretary. He also pointed out how wrong critics were when they said that moving to the US Embassy to Jerusalem would cause more conflict.

CZECH REPUBLIC

On Friday Secretary Pompeo spoke at the Prague 5G Security Conference about the launch of the Clean Network Initiative. He said it is an effort to “safeguard our citizens’ privacy and our companies’ sensitive information from untrusted vendors.” The Clean Network’s comprehensive approach is rooted in the Prague Proposals, and other internationally accepted digital trust standards. More than 30 countries and their carriers have joined the Clean Network, and many of the world’s biggest telecommunications companies are becoming Clean Telcos. Pompeo also announced to the conference that the United States is expanding globally the Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership launched in 2018. The program promotes increased connectivity and a competitive global marketplace for trusted 5G vendors. “The EU’s 5G Toolbox, which ensures the security of its 5G networks, is another initiative the US strongly supports.” said Pompeo. The US goal is to deny malign actors, such as China and its CCP leadership, access to foreign nations’ sensitive data.

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