John, 

DRIVING THE NEWS: The Biden Administration is proving its unwillingness to confront the Chinese Communist Party threat –– in more ways than one.

Learn more about China’s not-talked-about-enough land grab, addressing failures within America’s Navy, Pelosi’s upcoming visit to Taiwan (which is sending shockwaves through Beijing and Washington), and more below. 

SOUNDING THE ALARM ON CHINA’S $6.1 BILLION LAND GRAB

Bottom Line: “We don’t want a company that is effectively at the beck and call of the Chinese Communist Party, our foremost adversary, to have that type of leverage here domestically in the United States… More broadly, we need to recognize what the CCP is doing. They’re seeking to have economic leverage across the world, and here domestically in the United States, to coerce us into doing their bidding.”

REP. GALLAGHER: “THE CCP’S COERCION IS WORKING ON THE PRESIDENT”

Bottom Line: “There’s no reason why the Speaker of the House shouldn’t be allowed to travel to Taiwan. But allegedly, the Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States don’t want her to go because they fear provoking China. Fear is what governs all of their foreign policy instincts… we should not allow the CCP to intimidate us into submission."

POLL: Should Nancy Pelosi Visit Taiwan?

PREPARING AMERICA’S NAVY FOR FUTURE BATTLES

Bottom Line: “How many ships does our Navy need to deter—and if necessary win—a war? It should be a simple question. But our Navy is apparently incapable of providing Congress a direct and consistent answer. The fact that Congress has received four different answers from the Navy in the past three months alone sparks confusion and ultimately, less effective advocacy.”

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN UFOs AND NATIONAL SECURITY

Bottom Line: “The House on Wednesday voted to create a secure government system for reporting UFOs… It was proposed by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who have been among a vocal bipartisan bloc of lawmakers pressing Pentagon and intelligence officials to take the issue more seriously — and to be more transparent with Congress and the American people.”

Thank you for reading this month’s edition of the Foreign Policy Newsletter –– we’ll be in touch soon as we monitor developing stories from around the globe.

– Gallagher Foreign Policy HQ