Biden Repeats Carter’s Mistakes amid China’s Cuba Presence

I think an argument could be made that Biden is doing worse than Carter's mistakes with Cuba and Russia. Carter at least gathered information and advice, and then made the wrong choice. Biden appears to just be ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away.

Biden Repeats Carter’s Mistakes amid China’s Cuba Presence | National Review

Fast-forward to today: Reports of a Chinese military and intelligence presence in Cuba have been a distraction, not a focus of the Biden administration. Wise men haven’t gathered to advise the president on a response, nor has the president addressed the American people on the subject. After initially dismissing reports of a Chinese eavesdropping facility in Cuba as “not accurate,” the Biden team called it an “ongoing issue” dating back to the Trump administration. When another report revealed a Chinese military-training facility on the island, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “this is something we’re going to be monitoring very, very closely, and we’ve been very clear about that. And we will protect our homeland, we will protect our interests.”

Exactly what steps the administration has taken in response are not known. It had hoped Blinken’s recent meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing would open pathways to cooperation on trade and climate change, and efforts to find common ground on those issues don’t appear to be on hold. Yet, the administration’s attempts to establish lines of communication on security matters between U.S. and Chinese defense officials — perhaps the most critical and basic tool to prevent miscalculation and escalation — have been rejected by China.

It seems President Biden views the U.S.–China relationship as a competition that can accommodate cooperation. “This competition is not going to resolve in a decisive, transformative state,” one senior adviser said before the Blinken trip. “What we seek instead is a positive steady state, one where our interests and those of our allies and partners are protected.”

“Steady state” may be the 21st century version of “détente.” The reality is that this “steady state” has become increasingly dangerous, with the PRC destabilizing the Indo-Pacific and, more recently, the Western Hemisphere. As a result, cooperation should take a backseat. The U.S. should prioritize defense investments to strengthen our posture in both our own backyard and the Indo-Pacific. And we should screen investments headed for China that could put our own security and technological advantages at risk.

 

Supply and demand work. If we aren't fulfilling the demand in Cuba, someone else will. We need to normalize relations with Cuba, and let them know that keeping Russia and China out are a requirement for that to continue.