Foreign Relations Committee Republicans call on State Department to better combat growing Chinese military footprint

Warning of a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) plan to develop overseas naval facilities and logistical hubs to fuel potential future operations, Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week urged the State Department to turn up the pressure.

U.S. Sens. Todd Young (IN), Pete Ricketts (NE), Marco Rubio (FL) and Bill Hagerty (TN), all Republican, said these plans threaten U.S. national security interests and called for a whole of government approach to stopping them. Citing the Department of Defense’s (DoD) most recent China Military Report, they noted at least 13 countries targeted by China for future basing initiatives, including traditional U.S. partners like the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In response, the lawmakers asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken to explain State Department efforts to counter this and to advance American diplomatic interests.

“While tracking these developments and reporting on them publicly, as DoD is required by Congress to do, is an important first step to identify the challenges we face, the United States Government must now employ a whole-of-government approach to proactively engage partner countries to warn them of the risks of PLA expansion to their sovereignty and stability,” the senators wrote. “The United States maintains the world’s most robust and talented diplomatic presence, and we must use the Department of State’s resources to advance our interests in countering PLA expansion.”

Notably, the PLA – or People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China – now hosts the largest naval fleet worldwide, of at least 340 warships. Recent years also saw its power projection extend to its first overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017, with plans ongoing for a second in Cambodia.