President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor Robert O’Brien wrote in an essay Tuesday that, given the Biden administration’s policy “failures” with China, Trump should take a much harsher stance on Beijing if reelected in November.
O’Brien wrote for Foreign Affairs magazine on Tuesday that the risk China poses must be dealt with in a new way, as Beijing has become more emboldened against the U.S. under the Biden administration. Trump should cut economic ties with China and consider sending the entirety of the Marine Corps to the Asia-Pacific region, according to O’Brien.
“From the beginning of his presidential term, Biden has sent mixed messages about the threat posed by Beijing,” O’Brien wrote for Foreign Affairs on Tuesday. “Biden has referred to China’s economy as a ‘ticking time bomb’ but also stated plainly, ‘I don’t want to contain China’ and ‘We’re not looking to hurt China—sincerely. We’re all better off if China does well.’ To believe such pablum is to believe that China is not truly an adversary.”
O’Brien wrote that Beijing has acted increasingly hostile in recent years, bolstering its economic and military prowess, threatening to invade Taiwan, launching cyberwarfare attacks against the U.S. and failing to be held responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. China has strengthened its ties with a host of anti-west nations, including Russia and Iran, according to O’Brien.
“As China seeks to undermine American economic and military strength, Washington should return the favor,” O’Brien wrote.
Trump should de-couple the U.S. economy from China’s, according to O’Brien. This could be done by imposing a 60% tariff on imported Chinese goods and harsher export controls on sensitive U.S. technologies that could be used by Beijing.
“Of course, Washington should keep open lines of communication with Beijing, but the United States should focus its Pacific diplomacy,” O’Brien wrote. “The [U.S. Navy] should also move one of its aircraft carriers from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and the Pentagon should consider deploying the entire Marine Corps to the Pacific, relieving it in particular of missions in the Middle East and North Africa.”
Given China and Russia’s modernization and growth of their respective nuclear programs, Trump should also resume live underground nuclear testing for the first time since 1992, O’Brien wrote. If China and Russia will not engage in diplomatic talks over arms control and proliferation, the U.S. should further resume the production of uranium and plutonium elements, critical in the development of nuclear weapons.
A hand copy of O’Brien’s essay was given to a Trump campaign advisor and delivered to Trump, according to Bloomberg. O’Brien recently said that he is in “regular contact” with Trump and has been a vocal supporter of the former president’s reelection.
“In November, the American people will have the opportunity to return to office a president who restored peace through strength — and who can do it again,” O’Brien wrote.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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