Lost at Sea

Michael Fuchs details the national security implications of the Trump administration's refusal to acknowledge the problems posed by the South China Sea.

From climate change to Russian aggression to the unraveling of the Middle East, seismic shifts in geopolitics are fundamentally transforming the landscape of national security threats facing the United States. But President Donald Trump and his team seem oblivious to these challenges, choosing instead to do battle with political opponents on cable news. Meanwhile, these dangers wait for no one. As Trump shows no signs of getting serious about the real threats facing America, we are on the precipice of four lost years for U.S. national security at a time the nation can’t afford to sit still.

This strategic blindness will be on full display in the coming days when U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson joins foreign ministers from 26 countries across the Asia-Pacific to discuss the South China Sea—perhaps the most consequential security challenge the region will face in the coming decades, but which hardly registers for the Trump administration.

The above excerpt was originally published in U.S. News & World Report. Click here to view the full article.

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