By Harry J. Kazianis - - Sunday, November 20, 2016
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Thanks to eight years of feeble presidential leadership defined by buzzwords like “leading from behind,” “don’t do stupid stuff” and “red lines” that our enemies can cross at will, president-elect Donald Trump inherits an America that appears in retreat combined with a world that seems set ablaze.
Consider the challenges Mr. Trump will confront on day one in the Oval Office, indeed, a global landscape riddled with dangers and pitfalls not seen since the end of the Cold War.
The Russian bear is back. Moscow has cleaved off parts of another country thanks to new-found military muscle, brought back its client state in Syria from the brink of death and seemingly tried to influence our politics here at home.
The rise of ISIS is nothing short of a nightmare. The most powerful of all terror groups in human history, with control of its own territory and the means to inspire jihad on America at a moment’s notice is a threat the West is still coming to grips with. While ISIS might not be in position to sack Baghdad today, America and its allies have no clear strategy for defeating the group and even less of an idea on how to prevent new terror organizations that could rise from its ashes.
And then there is the Syrian Civil War, a humanitarian crisis that seems to be growing by the day that Washington has failed even remotely to help bring to a just conclusion. With millions of people fleeing the carnage and no end in sight, Europe is now being inundated with refugees that it is struggling to house and feed, only compounding their own economic challenges.
But while all of these challenges are worthy of the new administration’s time, there is only one challenge that today represents a clear and existential threat to America’s national interests, the well-being of our allies as well as our economy: The rise of the People’s Republic of China.
Beijing — sensing weakness from an administration that can only triage problems as opposed to solve them — is on a crash course to dominate the Asia-Pacific.
In just a few short years, China has pushed Japan to near crisis after crisis in the East China Sea, is now pressing against Taiwan’s democracy and building islands in the South China Sea threatening over $5 trillion dollars in sea-borne trade and the very concept of open access to the sea.
Mr. Obama’s response was a “pivot” to Asia. But having been clumsily rebranded a “rebalance” — allies complained we were pivoting away from them — and America’s military being slashed thanks to sequestration, the “pivot” will go down in history as one of the great foreign policy bumper stickers and a mere speed bump in China’s mastery of Asia.

President Trump and his team must set about crafting a grand strategy to ensure China’s bullying tendencies are checked and to deter any possible notion of transforming the Asia-Pacific region into a Chinese sphere of influence. There is a number of basic steps a Trump administration can take that would let Beijing know Washington means business.
Take for example a shift in tone — the easiest and possibly most effective place to start. America must dispatch with the notion that we want China to become “a responsible stakeholder” or that we wish Beijing to “rise peacefully.” Such phrases seem foolish at best. China has no intention of joining any international system built by America and has already risen. A Trump administration must declare China a competitor, willing to work with Beijing where interests intersect, but not fearful to call her out when needed.
From tougher talk can come stronger action. Mr. Trump’s national security team must begin to build a military strategy to ensure China simply can’t push over our allies or threaten America’s vital interests. With experts like Rep. Randy Forbes as a possible pick for secretary of the Navy, Beijing would have been served a clear sign that Washington’s naval might is on the ascendancy, one of the best ways to ensure nations like Japan, Taiwan and new partners like Vietnam will see an Asia-Pacific free of Chinese hegemony.
Trade must also be part of Mr. Trump’s China planning. If the Trans-Pacific Partnership is truly dead, bilateral deals must be struck to cement America’s commitment to Asia as well as joint economic prosperity. Many nations would welcome enhanced economic engagement with America, the best way to ensure their economies are not tied to a China who would seek to dominate them.
From these simple steps President Trump can right the wrongs of a China policy that was full of promises and light on action, setting into motion a broader strategy that tackles the greatest foreign policy challenge America will face for decades to come.
• Harry J. Kazianis serves as director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest, founded by former President Richard M. Nixon, and is executive editor of The National Interest.