REP BRIAN MAST: We are protecting our troops from having our own tech used against them

Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the Coast Guard Arctic District, tells Fox News Digital he “can’t get those icebreakers soon enough” as Chinese research vessels increase activity around Alaska. Pasted text

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The key objective in economic warfare is to do more harm to your enemy than you do to yourself, and President Donald Trump is doing what every American president should do: putting America first and making sure the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cannot use our own resources against us.

[snip]

For too long, American capital and expertise have found their way into Chinese companies developing technologies with military applications. And for anyone to argue that every part of China’s economy isn’t linked directly to the CCP military clearly hasn’t been paying attention. That is a serious national security failure. We should never allow our investments, our ingenuity or our world-class research to give the CCP an advantage over the United States.

That’s why I couldn’t be happier to see the Trump administration propose new rules to put an end to Chinese infiltration. By strengthening restrictions on investments that could help build China’s military-industrial base, the administration is taking meaningful action to protect the technologies that keep America strong. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the administration deserve a huge amount of credit for advancing these protections and working to ensure that American money does not end up strengthening our greatest foreign adversary.

[snip]

We are closing loopholes, addressing the ways financial and professional services can help Chinese companies advance, and ensuring that restrictions keep pace with the technologies Beijing is trying to acquire.

Because this is not just about money. It is about American lives.

I served in the Army. I know what it means to put on a uniform and accept the responsibility of defending this country. To pray that our military is better and stronger than our enemy’s.

But our service members don’t get to choose whether the enemy they face has better technology. And we should never ask them to confront an adversary that we helped make stronger.

[snip]

Our troops should never have to face a more powerful Chinese military because American dollars helped build it.

We are closing loopholes, addressing the ways financial and professional services can help Chinese companies advance, and ensuring that restrictions keep pace with the technologies Beijing is trying to acquire. Because this is not just about money. It is about American lives.

That is why we cannot afford to be careless about where American money goes. We cannot warn the American people about China’s military buildup with one hand while allowing our capital and expertise to help finance it with the other. Protecting our national security means making difficult decisions, confronting uncomfortable realities and refusing to let short-term financial interests come before the safety of the American people.

[snip]

America has the talent, the resources and the ingenuity to lead that race. But we cannot win if we keep handing our advantages to the Chinese Communist Party. We have the responsibility to protect our breakthroughs, strengthen our defense industrial base and make sure American innovation serves American interests.

It’s for this very reason I have been so passionate about passing legislation to do these very things. During this Congress, we in the House Foreign Affairs Committee have been staunch supporters of codifying the president’s AI Action Plan with legislation such as the AI OVERWATCH Act, the MATCH Act and the Remote Access Security Act, to strengthen oversight of advanced AI chip exports, close loopholes in semiconductor equipment controls and prevent China from bypassing our safeguards through remote access to sensitive technology.

[snip]

I applaud President Trump for taking action to protect America’s technological edge and for recognizing that we cannot allow the Chinese Communist Party to exploit our own success against us.

Brian Mast, a Republican, is chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee and congressman representing Florida’s 21st District.

(*) Full article: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/rep-brian-mast-protecting-troops-own-tech-used-against-them