Will Trump form a foreign affairs and security team for his second term in office with the keyword ‘anti-China’?
Rumor has it that Rubio will be selected as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Waltz is a ‘hardliner against China’. If implemented, the focus will be on keeping China in check after an early end to the war in Ukraine and the Middle East. Unlike the 1st security line, the 2nd term will be dominated by loyalist politicians?
Will Trump form a foreign affairs and security team for his second term in office with the keyword ‘anti-China’?
Rumor has it that Rubio was selected as Secretary of State and Waltz is a ‘hardliner against China’
If implemented, it will likely focus on keeping China in check after an early end to the war in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Unlike the 1st security line transfusion of external experts, the 2nd phase is mainly comprised of loyalist politicians?
(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Cho Jun-hyung = If you look at the faces of the nominees reported in the media as part of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s second term foreign affairs and security team, the ‘anti-China color’ is noticeable.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 11th (local time) that President-elect Trump is expected to select U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (Florida) as Secretary of State, the head of foreign affairs.
In addition, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Bloomberg News reported that President-elect Trump had selected Congressman Mike Waltz (Florida), a former member of the Army Special Operations Forces (Green Beret), as his national security adviser.
Previously, President-elect Trump officially nominated Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (New York) as ambassador to the United Nations, a cabinet-level position.
The two figures reported to have been selected as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, the ‘top two’ in the diplomatic and security lines, have a strong anti-China code in common.
Representative Rubio served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was known as a representative anti-China member of the U.S. Congress. He took the lead in proposing a bill to sanction Hong Kong officials in relation to China’s violation of democracy and autonomy in Hong Kong, and also conducted an investigation and published a report to uncover the origins of COVID-19, which first spread on a large scale in Wuhan, China.
Representative Rubio also proposed a bill to restrict real estate transactions near U.S. military bases by capital from four countries, including China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran, and was named as a “fixed member” in various anti-China sanctions movements coming out of Congress. Raised it.
Representative Waltz served on the House Special Committee on China and proposed legislation to reduce dependence on China for key minerals and protect American universities and academia from Chinese espionage activities.
He also said at an event in 2021, “We are in a cold war with the Chinese Communist Party,” and called for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
As reported by the media, if President-elect Trump appoints the two as secretary of state and national security adviser, respectively, it will likely be interpreted as implying that he plans to make keeping China in check the core of his foreign policy.
Currently, the Biden administration is caught up in the conflicts in the Middle East, starting with the Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war, and can be said to be taking a stance of conflict, competition, and cooperation with China while forming a clearly hostile structure with Russia. there is.
Meanwhile, if President-elect Trump finally appoints Representatives Rubio and Waltz, he will focus on resolving the current hot issues of Russia and the Middle East as early as possible and curbing China’s military, economic, and diplomatic rise during his second term in office. It seems that it can be evaluated as a revelation of intent.
Representatives Rubio and Waltz are evaluated as having maintained a hard-line and principled stance on North Korea as well as China.
Another point to note is the moderation of politicians in the diplomatic and security lines.
Rep. Stefanik, whom President-elect Trump has already nominated as UN ambassador, is a member of the House of Representatives, and Rep. Rubio and Rep. Waltz, who were reported by the media as secretary of state and national security adviser, are also active members of the Senate and House of Representatives. Also, all three people are called ‘Trump loyalists.’
During his first term in office, as seen with James Mattis (Secretary of Defense) and Rex Tillerson (Secretary of State), he hired ‘outside experts’ even if they had no special relationship with him, relying on their reputation or recommendations, but this time, there is a noticeable trend of appointing politicians with proven loyalty. .
There is an aspect that the Senate’s confirmation process will generally be easier if an incumbent member is nominated, but more than that, it can be seen that the intention is to nominate people who will faithfully carry out his diplomatic policy, package it well as a politician, and explain it to the voters.
The intention to deal with foreign affairs and security as an extension of domestic politics under the banner of ‘America First’ appears to be underlying the appointments that have been discussed so far.
Meanwhile, if the appointment of Rep. Rubio, who is close to the mainstream diplomatic line of the traditional Republican Party that emphasizes liberal democracy and alliances, as Secretary of State becomes a reality, it can alleviate to some extent concerns and controversies at home and abroad that Trump’s return to power will directly lead to the beginning of an era of neo-isolationism. It is expected that it could become a card.
Attention is focused on whether a politician will be appointed to the position of Minister of Defense, for which no single candidate has yet been mentioned.
Senator Tom Cotton (Arkansas), a former Army officer who argued that the Insurrection Act, which went into effect in the early 19th century, should be invoked to address civil disorder, and former Representative Lee Zeldin, who served in Iraq, have been criticized. It was reported that he recently announced his intention to remain in the Senate, and Zeldin was nominated to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
Among non-politicians, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development Elbridge Colby is being mentioned as one of the candidates for Secretary of Defense.
jhcho@yna.co.kr
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