Why Trump’s target should be China and not Panama
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Donald Trump is threatening to invade Panama. China’s influence on the Canal Zone, he claims, undermines US security.
Ten years ago, I commanded a 60-man Marine Corps counternarcotics training mission Panama Canal Zone. For the past two years, I have served on the Congressional China Committee. I introduced the US Supply Chain Security Audit Act, which is now the law of the land.
The president-elect is right to support the Monroe Doctrine. This pillar of American foreign policy has repelled foreign interference in America for two centuries. However, based on my experience in Panama and in Congress, I believe Trump is going about this the wrong way.
The next administration should keep China out of America’s backyard be tough on Chinanot Panama.
TRUMP NEGOTIATES NEW PANAMA CANAL TREATY FOR AMERICANS
Panama is our ally. When I led a combined training team of Marines, Sailors and Colombian special operators to the Panama Canal Zone in 2014, I worked closely with the Panamanian Public Forces. I planned patrols with their officers and conducted live fire drills with their troops. On the water and in the jungle, we practiced drug interdiction tactics.
Panamanians were professional and pro-American. We were one team. Even the next commander-in-chief’s implication that the Americans might fight them is frivolous and unacceptable.
The Chinese Communist Partyhowever, it is anti-American. While I have seen no evidence of Chinese malfeasance in the Canal Zone, their influence is undeniable. Panama is no exception; Chinese influence extends throughout Central and South America.
In addition to naval operations, China is making inroads into telecommunications and data infrastructure; local politics and media, including TikTok; and energy and resources. Policymakers in both parties acknowledge that Washington should do more to uphold the Monroe Doctrine for the G2 era.
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The right way to change the doctrine is to tighten both defense and offense against China. On defense, America should push Chinese companies out of the Western Hemisphere by strengthening its own economic, diplomatic and cultural ties with countries like Panama. The Chinese come to their capitals bringing trade deals and investment in infrastructure. Americans rarely appear.
On the offensive, America should double down on our alliances in China’s backyard. President Biden made great strides here. He helped bring Japan and South Korea closer together. He withdrew India as a counterweight to China. And he secured closer military cooperation with Australia and the Philippines.
The missing piece in the East, just like in the West, was trade and investment. When Trump abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership, China became the region’s largest economic partner. American friends in the region still want us to join them. Trump could negotiate an agreement with strong environmental, labor and country-of-origin provisions, just as he did with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
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Attack-defense approach The Monroe Doctrine he would put Xi Jinping on his heels. The Chinese president’s mercantilist strategy, known as the Belt and Road Initiative, relies on state support and guidance. Hampered by a weak economy at home, Xi would not be able to go deal after deal against a booming American economy that does business everywhere.
Trump should be using those tough tactics against a big, belligerent country, not bullying a small ally.