(RightWing.org) – The People’s Republic of China (PRC/Communist) and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have shown a pattern of increasing aggression in recent years. That behavior has been evident in both the military and economic spheres throughout the South China Sea and Southeast Asia. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) has introduced legislation to counterbalance some of that influence, and a bipartisan group of 12 others (five Republicans/seven Democrats) have signed on as co-sponsors.
Pushing Back the Red Tide
The U.S. and Pacific Islands Forum [PIF] Partnership Act would create the position of a permanent envoy to the group. That person would be appointed by the President of the US and would then need to be confirmed by the Senate under the Advice and Consent clause under Article II of the United States Constitution. This would give the United States a continual presence with the group, which calls itself “the region’s premier political and economic policy organisation [sic].”
The PIF is made up of 18 member nations, including Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea, amongst others, that come together to promote the “… peace, harmony, [and] security…” of the region known as Oceania. According to Kennedy’s press release on the matter, he and his colleagues believe it is important to make the position of permanent envoy into something more than an informal posting so it can be subject to Senate oversight.
Senator Dr. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) also sent out a message agreeing with his fellow lawmaker from the Pelican State, saying this is an important issue and is vital “to promote diplomacy and combat the [CCP’s] increased aggression in the Pacific.” Some of the bullying being done by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s military has been documented and made public by the Philippine Islands since President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. took office in 2022.
CCP Aggression
The Philippine Coast Guard alleges that on February 6, a ship of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy flashed a green military-grade laser at one of its vessels near the Second Thomas Shoal. That action temporarily blinded several of the ship’s sailors. The PLA Air Force regularly flies fighter jets and bombers near and into Taiwan’s (Republic of China/ROC) air defense identification zone (ADIZ), including 70 reported in the news on April 10, of which 35 actually crossed that sensitive boundary.
Military force and intimidation is not the only tactic the PRC uses in its war against America and the way of life that so many have sacrificed themselves to help maintain. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on April 17 it had charged two New York City residents for allegedly working “together to establish the first overseas police station” of the Communist nation’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS). According to the allegations in the press release, the two men worked under the direction of the MPS in an effort “to monitor and intimidate dissidents and those critical of [Xi’s] government.”
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