Photo: NASA

Admiral Samuel Locklear, the commander of American forces in the Pacific, told the Boston Globe earlier this month that climate change is the biggest security threat America faces in the Pacific.

It’s possible that Locklear could “simply be reading from the national-security gospel according to Team Obama, which has highlighted climate change as an emerging security threat,” Heritage Foundation scholar Peter Brookes writes in the National Interest.

And there’s reason to worry, he continues, that our military leadership is losing its focus on threats like North Korea, or China’s military buildup: Continue Reading »

Photo: Newscom

There’s a lot of talk in the media about China “owning America” because they buy up so much of our government’s debt. This borrowing from China is often presented as an economic problem.

But Heritage expert Derek Scissors says these claims are overstated:

China has fallen behind Japan as the largest foreign holder of U.S. securities. The Department of the Treasury’s new numbers are good only through June 30, 2012, but it puts Japan at $1.84 trillion and China at $1.59 trillion.

There are lots of things to say about this, but one stands out: The loose talk about China “owning” America never made any sense and perhaps now can finally end.

In fact, he says, our problem isn’t China buying our debt but rather our own elected officials who create that debt in the first place: Continue Reading »

Peter Brookes

China is increasingly focused on asserting its military power in the South China Sea, Heritage Foundation foreign policy expert Peter Brookes told lawmakers on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs earlier this month.

American weakness could allow Chinese hegemony in the region, he warned:

In the end, Chinese policies and activities in the South China Sea have the potential to set a troubling precedent if Beijing is not effectively opposed. In the absence of any Southeast Asian nation capable of opposing Chinese assertiveness, a weak U.S. response will enhance the chances of China achieving its apparent goal of hegemony over the strategic South China Sea. The Chinese could potentially realize this end state without the use of force. Of course, misperception and miscalculation could lead to a major crisis with significant, but unintended, consequences.

How do you think the U.S. should respond to China’s growing power?

Did you know that Voyager, a 1970’s-era American spacecraft, has traveled farther from Earth than any other man-made object? It was back-page news.

But you may have heard recently that China successfully launched its fourth manned space mission.

NASA is respected the world over, yet it simply under utilizes its international credibility.

The final frontier is an excellent way for the United States to demonstrate its strength to potential rivals. Continue Reading »

The Philippines and China are competing in a game of chicken over a disputed spit of land in the South China Sea.

“There is a very basic calculation involved here,” Heritage Foundation expert Walter Lohman explains. ”The first to leave the shoal will be perceived as ceding sovereignty.”

A Philippine warship confronted private Chinese poachers last month in the waters off Scarborough Shoal, near the Philippine main island of Luzon, an area of disputed sovereignty.

Though both the Chinese fishing boats and the Philippine naval vessel have since cleared the area, the issue remains critical. Tension has escalated: China is upset that a Filipino warship was policing the waters, and the Philippines are sensitive to rumors of PRC war preparations.

Neither side is submitting, Lohman explains:

As things stand, two Chinese marine surveillance ships and a fisheries patrol ship remain in the area today, as do two Filipino public vessels, one from the coast guard and the other from the Philippines’ own fisheries bureau. Dozens of Chinese fishing vessels are also reported to be in the area.

The way America handles this situation will determine both our credibility as an ally and our commitment to peace: Continue Reading »

Chen Guangcheng’s story has become a nationally known drama. The blind Chinese activist escaped the compound where he was being held under house arrest by the communist government.

A self-trained legal advocate, Chen was imprisoned and beaten because of his efforts to expose the “gendercide” occurring under China’s draconian One-Child Policy.

Chen’s story has brought new attention to the negative consequences of this policy, which compels women to undergo forced abortions. The Heritage Foundation’s Jennifer Marshall explains: Continue Reading »

China's military continues to grow.

While President Obama plans to cut military spending, China’s military is growing steadily stronger and larger.

The proof is in the pudding: China announced this week that its new defense budget would total $106 billion- an 11.2 percent increase over its previous budget. China now spends more on defense than all other Asian nations combined.

The Heritage Foundation’s Mike Brownfield elaborates on the American cuts:

        Under President Obama’s budget, the U.S. military will shrink dramatically, and the President makes defense the lowest budget priority among the major categories of spending in the federal budget. All told, the President would slash military spending by $487 billion over 10 years – and that’s on top of the $500 billion in cuts ushered in by the sequestration process under the Budget Control Act. The effect of all those cuts? A military that is woefully unprepared to execute its constitutional duty to protect America.

The administration, instead of preparing to counter the Chinese threat, is degrading the military’s capabilities to protect against foreign enemies.

“A strong military inspires respect abroad, while a weak one invites aggressions,” Brownfield concludes. “If America is to secure its independence, it must maintain a military capable of keeping that promise.”

Do you think that China’s growing military strength possess a threat to the United States?

Earlier this week, thousands of protesters converged on the National Mall in Washington, DC for the annual March for Life, which marks the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.

Abortion on demand is not a purely American concern. The Heritage Foundation’s Ericka Andersen points out that Western population activists encouraged developing countries to impose draconian measures like China’s one-child policy–with perverse results like sex-selective abortions.

“A generation of Western population activists helped to create the sex-selection tragedy by advocating unlimited abortion and the targeting of female fetuses in the womb,” Andersen writes. Around the world, she writes, 160 million baby girls have been killed in-utero. Continue Reading »

China’s investments are growing around the world – and The Heritage Foundation has produced the only publicity available comprehensive guide to the Communist country’s global deals.

Our interactive map reveals China’s investments in individual nations and specific industry sectors. This exclusive dataset shows China’s rapid investment into South America and notable investment in the energy sector.

China’s financial stake in the United States is close to $1.5 trillion, roughly ten percent of the size of the U.S. economy. China holds $2.5 trillion in reserves and is expanding its investment and influence.

To view the map, click here.

Photo: Wikimedia/Gobierno de Chile

President Obama’s recent stance on China is a welcome change for the better, but more needs to be done, says Heritage Foundation expert Walter Lohman. Continue Reading »