At a Goffstown, New Hampshire town meeting on Monday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie advocated adopting a “military approach” to dealing with China. Although the New Jersey Governor has not officially kicked off his candidacy, his foray into discussing foreign policy in the first GOP presidential primary state, left little doubt about his intentions.
Governor Christie told the town hall audience that America needed to take a “military approach” and let the Chinese ”know there are limits to what they’re allowed to do.” In discussing China’s activity in the South China Sea, Christie added:
That is an issue that we can handle militarily by going out there and making sure that we show them that we don’t respect their claims to these artificial islands in the South China Sea that they’re building, that they’re saying are theirs that are hundreds and hundreds of miles from the coast of China and are clearly in international waters. We need to send that signal to the Chinese very clearly that we do not acknowledge nor will we respect their claims to those areas.
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Governor Christie has been trying to gain traction in the crowded GOP presidential field, but he has been unable to set himself apart from other candidates. Social conservatives distrust him, and free market fundamentalists have better options as well.
Chris Christie’s comments on China appear to be an effort to win over neo-conservative foreign policy hawks. Though ex-Florida Governor Jeb Bush and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham may also be vying to carve out that niche, Chris Christie raised the ante by hinting at taking military action against China.
The problem for Governor Christie is that talk is cheap and while his calls for military action may sound like tough talk, he lacks a realistic plan for how to conduct such action without triggering potentially dangerous consequences. It is one thing to engage in bellicose saber-rattling rhetoric on the campaign trail to drum up votes, and quite another matter to engage in a confrontation with China’s large military force.
Chris Christie’s rhetoric is irresponsible, and America would do better to reject him in favor of a more sober and diplomatic leader. The last Republican president launched a costly and needless war in Iraq. One can only imagine how much worse trying to start a war with China would turn out.
Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful re-election bid in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.
