The Trump Administration continues to turn up the heat on China, delivering near daily broadside shots against the Chinese Communist Party.
On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a strong administration policy statement on excessive Chinese maritime claims in the S. China Sea.
"Beijing uses intimidation to undermine the sovereign rights of Southeast Asian coastal states in the South China Sea, bully them out of offshore resources, assert unilateral dominion, and replace international law with “might makes right.”
Secretary Pompeo's statement explicitly aligns the U.S. position with a 2016 international Permanent Court of Arbitration decision that rejects China’s sweeping Nine-Dash Line claims:
“The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire."
Oil, Gas and Submarine Tunnels
China continues to militarize the S. China Sea, turning rocks and low tide elevations into habitable islands in an attempt to establish a massive Exclusive Economic Zone. Two of the primary drivers behind these efforts are energy and defense.
The U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates that the South China Sea holds about 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 11 billion barrels of oil in proved and probable reserves. The most recent large oil and gas discovery in the region was announced just last month.
As a maritime nation with over 9,000 miles of coastline, China also operates a large number of naval bases. Several of these facilities provide underground tunnels to protect key warships, as well as the ballistic missile submarine force.
The first is Jianggezhuang Naval Base (36° 6'20.76"N, 120°35'2.39"E) near Qingdao on the Yellow Sea, directly opposite the Korea Peninsula (and lots of eye and ears). The second, and newest, is at Yulin Naval Base on the southern coast of Hainan Island (18°12'8.97"N, 109°41'39.34"E). Yulin allows Chinese ballistic missile submarines (and aircraft carriers) easy access to.... the S. China Sea.
The U.S. Navy continues freedom of navigation exercises in the S. China Sea to challenge the illegal territorial claims. Earlier this month, the U.S. sent two carrier strike groups along with B-52 bombers to the region for joint operations.
Hong Kong Autonomy Act and Executive Order
On Tuesday, during a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, President Trump announced that he had signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (H.R.7440). Passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, the new law imposes sanctions on Chinese officials, businesses and banks that help China restrict Hong Kong’s autonomy. The move comes in response to China's passage of a "national security" law that tightened Beijing's grip on Hong Kong by prohibiting what Beijing views as secessionist, subversive or terrorist activities.
Also on Tuesday, President Trump signed an executive order revoking the special trading status the US provided Hong Kong since 1997 when it reverted to China's control under a promised "One Country, Two Systems" principle. According to President Trump:
“Hong Kong will now be treated the same as mainland China. No special privileges, no special economic treatment, and no export of sensitive technologies.”
'China’s Goal Is To Replace You'
On Wednesday, during a speech at the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Attorney General William Barr delivered a scathing critique of the Chinese government's "predatory" trade policies and accused the country of manipulating American businesses, stealing trade secrets and attempting to hack U.S. efforts to develop COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
Barr specifically singled out some of Silicon Valley’s biggest names, saying they had allowed themselves to become “pawns of Chinese influence.”
“American companies such as Cisco helped the Chinese Communist build the Great Firewall of China, the world's most sophisticated system for internet surveillance, and censorship,” he said. “Over the years, corporations, such as Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Apple have shown themselves all too willing to collaborate with the CCP.”
Barr offered this warning to corporations doing business in China:
“The ultimate ambition of China's rulers isn't to trade with the United States. It is to raid the United States. If you're an American business leader, appeasing the PRC may bring short term rewards, but in the end the PRC’s goal is to replace you.”
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