Teddy Roosevelt’s model to combat Communist China

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As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 garnered the world’s attention, China was quietly conducting combat readiness drills near Taiwan. China’s provocative actions prompted me to really focus on their hostile acts against our own nation.  

In April 2022, I first explored the real dangers posed by the global actions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and, more specifically, its flagrant violation of two longstanding American foreign policies – the Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary. 

Today, China is still flaunting its disregard of our nation’s sovereignty. That is why I’m once again sounding the alarms not only for the American people to recognize where the situation stands, but also for my colleagues in Congress who are reluctant to push back against China. 

MAYORKAS: CHINA ‘BEARS RESPONSIBILITY’ IN REGARD TO US FENTANYL CRISIS

Remember the Chinese spy balloon earlier this year? That was a blatant act of aerial espionage against the United States. The Chinese-owned, high-altitude balloon crisscrossed the United States for nearly a week, hovering over U.S. military bases and collecting secret and sensitive information before mounting public pressure forced the Biden administration to shoot it down. 

A soldier checks the missiles on an air fighter at a PLA military airport in a training session in east China's Zhejiang province in late August 2021.  (Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Launching the spy balloon was a direct violation of the Monroe Doctrine, which established in the 1800s that a foreign state’s intervention in political affairs of the Americas was potentially a hostile act against the United States.  

While we don’t fully know the extent of the information the balloon gathered and how much information went directly to Beijing, the act itself violates the policy. Although the balloon’s illegal flyover was short-lived, the CCP’s next move may be permanent. 

In June, we learned that China has been operating a spy base in communist Cuba since 2019. That’s less than 100 miles away from the United States. Reports indicate the two nations are holding joint military training in Cuba, which is also home to deep-water ports critical for China to sustain their own naval fleet.  

This is China’s latest strategic military positioning in Latin America and the Caribbean. China has established the "Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)," a global infrastructure and economic development plan comprised of nearly two dozen Latin American and Caribbean countries.  

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Dozens of African nations – along with Russia, Venezuela, and Iran – are also members. Through the BRI, China has leveraged its economic power to advance its military interests in our backyard.  

Also consider the Panama Canal, one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. The canal was built with American manpower and resources – notably Pittsburgh steel and Lehigh Valley cement – to ease and expedite international trade. Unfortunately, former President Jimmy Carter gifted full control of this vital waterway from the U.S. to Panama.  

Today, Panama participates in the BRI, and China increasingly controls ports on both ends of the canal. The waterway is a key piece of their BRI puzzle. To me, this is incredibly alarming. Our top adversary is in a position to control the canal that we built. 

This is where the Roosevelt Corollary factors into this geopolitical equation. Established in the 1900s and based off the Monroe Doctrine, the Corollary allows the United States to directly intervene in the internal affairs of Latin American countries if they did not do enough to prevent European aggression.  

U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in Nusa Dua, in Bali, Indonesia.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Today, China is the dominant threat. Its goal is clear: to move into the Western Hemisphere and establish a military and economic foothold to directly challenge, threaten and weaken the United States.

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Beyond military aggression, the Chinese are connected to millions of American deaths over the last decade. China is the origin of much of the illegal fentanyl that killed more than 67,325 Americans in 2021 alone; and, although the intelligence community continues to debate COVID-19’s origins, we know the pandemic most likely came from a laboratory leak in China. Sadly, more than 1.1 million Americans have died from COVID-19. 

I am committed to combating China’s aggression by making America less dependent on Chinese products and by bolstering trade relations with allies. The U.S. House recently passed the United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement Implementation Act, a product of the Ways and Means Committee on which I serve.  

This builds upon the $105 billion in annual trade between our countries. But reinforcing trade relations is just one step. A robust foreign policy is essential to opposing China’s influence in our hemisphere and in our nation. 

In June, we learned that China has been operating a spy base in communist Cuba since 2019. That’s less than 100 miles away from the United States. Reports indicate the two nations are holding joint military training in Cuba, which is also home to deep-water ports critical for China to sustain their own naval fleet.  

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The ‘Corollary’ is modeled after former President Theodore Roosevelt’s famous mantra "speak softly, and carry a big stick." Congress and the Biden administration must stand firm against CCP aggression toward our country. As I’ve said before, the U.S. should not seek military action with China. That is in neither nation’s best interest. But we cannot be weak on the world stage. We must protect and defend our nation.  

China has shown us its hand. How we choose to play ours will determine our future with the Chinese Communist Party and American national security at large. 

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