Center for Security Policy
Vice President Joe Biden reportedly “urged restraint” during his meetings with Chinese leaders this week. It’s a safe bet that, as predicted, his hosts interpreted this weak U.S. response as acquiescence to their latest – and dangerous – assertion of sovereignty in the East China Sea.
The danger will grow if the practical effect of the Vice President’s diplomatic foray will be to embolden the Chinese to use their newly declared air defense zone to block critical American intelligence collection flights.
It must be asked: Did Mr. Biden also low-ball the U.S. response to China’s recent boasts of its readiness to kill millions of Americans with nuclear missile strikes on our country, to exercise control of outer space and to put offensive missiles on the moon? We can’t afford to green-light such behavior.