What Should The United States Do About The Chinese Drone Seizure? [Opinion]

This past Thursday, an American underwater research drone in international water was seized by a Chinese military vessel. What should the United States do about an increasingly aggressive China?

The seizure of the research drone is far from the only overt aggressive behavior China has demonstrated over the last few years. From building artificial islands in the South China Sea to harassing U.S. naval vessels on exercises, Chinese aggression, and the capability for more, has only grown.

China has recently upgraded several of the islands it has claimed in the South China Sea with anti-missile and anti-air defenses. Airstrips feature prominently on several of these as well, providing safe refueling and rearming stations for Chinese military aircraft.

With the seizure of an American drone, China has upped the ante in a way that the U.S. can do little about without significantly escalating the current tensions between the two countries. In fact, all the U.S. can really do is ask for the drone back.

CNN stated that “The Chinese move offers President Obama two choices: be seen as capitulating to a dramatic increase in Chinese aggressiveness, or leave office having taken a hard line against China’s destabilizing path.”

So what should the United States do to diplomatically combat Chinese aggression?

First off, Washington needs to start taking a hard line with Chinese expansion into the South China Sea. China has claimed the areas around the various islands it has built or expanded for the full 200 mile exclusive economic zone. China maintains that military maneuvers within that zone are forbidden, while the United States claims only the 12 mile territorial waters limit applies.

If Washington, whether guided by Obama or Trump, refuses to combat Chinese expansion into the South China Sea before they are firmly entrenched, it will be extremely difficult to oust China from the area. It would be more difficult than the island hopping campaigns waged in World War II against the Japanese.

For purely diplomatic tactics, the U.S. can use targeted sanctions against Chinese companies or companies that do significant amount of trade with china. Denying visas to Chinese visitors, whether businessmen, students, or others, can also make a very poignant point.

Furthermore, the U.S. State Department needs to work on maintaining, possibly rebuilding, a strong face. According to BBC, “the Chinese defence [sic] ministry criticised [sic] the US, saying it had overreacted to the incident.” This is a very diplomatic insult. The State Department needs to ensure such have a superior response. Losing at diplomacy is an step towards more intense aggression, similar to when a bully keeps insulting someone to figure out at what point that person will stand their ground.

China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters – rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented act.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 17, 2016

For more military endeavors, the U.S. should step up its efforts to maintain a strong fleet presence in both the South China Sea as well as around Taiwan. Reminding China that they are not the only ones capable of instigation can be an important deterrent to future Chinese aggression.

Time is of essence with a new administration coming to lead the United States. China has challenged new administrations several times over the last few years.

Retired Navy Admiral James Stavridis, formerly of the NATO Supreme Allied Command, told The Hill “I assure you all of the actors who are pushing on the United States now will push even harder on the new administration to try and find out where the limits are, and that will be a period of maximum danger.”

America needs to stand up for itself. If the Russian hacking of the election in November and the latest affront by the Chinese go unanswered with strength, they will continue to push at America.

Tell us what you think of the Chinese drone seizure situation in the comments section below!

[Featured Image by Charles W Clark |Flickr| Cropped and Resized | CC BY 2.0 ]