THE ISSUE: China’s rise as a maritime power and the threat it poses to national security.
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Joseph Callo and Daniel Maldow highlight what may be the single greatest threat to America’s worldwide military predominance and our national security (“China’s Navy: Rising Threat,” Post-
Opinion, April 9).
China’s predominance as a sea power would have a profoundly negative effect on our way of life and the entire free world.
We should use every means at our disposal, including trade policy, economic sanctions and diplomacy, to derail China’s plans.
What’s most troubling is that neither of the major political parties seems prepared to address the rising threat now or over the long term, particularly given our existing fiscal challenges.
J. Collins
Manhattan
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Our Defense Department, led by a feckless president, has ignored the ugly truth about the rise of China’s naval power and the threat to America’s hegemony in the Pacific.
Having reduced us to a navy of fewer than 300 ships, liberals in Congress continue to chip away at America’s ability to rule the seas and to protect America’s interests abroad.
When will we realize that the advent of a Chinese carrier force will seriously threaten US interests, including an almost certain attack on Taiwan? Wake up, Congress, before it’s too late to reverse our present course.
Norman Stern
Naples, Fla.
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China has been buying up the old Russian fleet, and it has the manpower to refurbish and refit these vessels.
The future balance of power in the Pacific is in jeopardy, and it will have a major negative impact on global maritime trade. Our allies in the region do not have the resources alone to check this massive Chinese expansion.
It takes years for a warship to go from design to commissioning, a fact that Obama’s administration either does not comprehend or chooses to ignore.
Defense budget cuts look wonderful today, but if China rules the ocean years from now, it is because this administration and Congress failed the Navy and merchant fleet.
Richard Othmer
Kent Lakes