by WorldTribune Staff, December 22, 2025 Real World News
Critics of President Donald Trump’s new National Security strategy say that it does not go far enough in targeting communist China.
But a closer examination of the strategy shows that Trump is moving to strengthen relationships with Japan and South Korea while warning China to “keep away from Taiwan and Australia,” Victor Davis Hanson wrote in a Dec. 15 analysis for The Daily Signal.
“And then, when we get to the economic domestic aspects of the National Security Strategy, it’s all aimed at China,” Hanson added. “It just says that we cannot be a successful, dominant power in the world, and we don’t want any other power to be dominant. And by inference, that’s Russia and China. But on matters of trade, under matters of natural resources, under matters of the South China Sea, it’s aimed at China.”
What is also outlined in Trump’s strategy is the fact, Hanson noted, that China is carrying out “the largest ship-building — and I mean military ship-building — the largest aircraft production, and the largest small arms and major arms industry in such a short time that we’ve ever seen.”
One stat in Trump’s 29-page National Security Strategy, “explains everything,” Erik Bethel wrote in a Dec. 19 analysis posted to LinkedIn. “China now has 200x (or more) the shipbuilding capacity of the United States.”
Related: ‘Trump Corollary’ to Monroe Doctrine, puts ‘non-Hemispheric’ competitors on notice, December 19, 2025
“We thought trade would create democracy. Instead, by outsourcing manufacturing to China, we inadvertently funded a military-industrial base that is now outproducing us,” Bethel noted.
Bethel pointed to four important “pivots” in Trump’s new strategy:
1. The “Near-Shore” Fortress (Western Hemisphere): China owns port operations all over Latin America including at both ends of the Panama Canal. The new strategy: Redirecting billions to Latin America to secure our own backyard and displace Chinese infrastructure.
2. NATO’s New Price Tag: 5% The 2% era is over. The new target is 5% of GDP by 2035.
– Germany at 2% ≈ $70B
– Germany at 5% ≈ $250B This isn’t just a budget increase; it’s the re-industrialization of the European defense base.3. “Friend-Shoring” Supply Chains. The goal is to move critical manufacturing from competitors to allies.
China is out. Allies are in. The strategy trades “lowest cost” for “highest security.” Your electronics may cost more, but they’ll actually arrive during a crisis.
4. The Taiwan Shield. The Pentagon’s math is simple: Taiwan produces 90% of advanced chips. Losing it means a global production halt. The fix? “Military Overmatch” Deterrence. Massive investments in Pacific logistics and hardened infrastructure to ensure Taiwan resilience.
Trump’s strategy, Hanson continued, “puts a lot of emphasis on the Monroe Doctrine, the new Monroe Doctrine. And it basically says, why have we allowed Panama to be colonized — the Panama Canal — the Chinese? Why do we have Russians and Chinese and Iranians involved in narco-terrorism, in the case of Venezuela, maybe Colombia, maybe some other South American illiberal, totalitarian governments? Why are we allowing the Chinese to assemble products in Mexico to evade our tariffs, when Mexico is supposedly a friend, hand in glove is helping the Chinese cheat on tariffs when they’re running $171 billion trade surplus with us, $63 billion in remittances? Probably $20 billion in additional cartel revenues from human trafficking and fentanyl.”
Another top concern of the strategic assessment in the Western Hemisphere is, Hanson wrote, that illicit drugs are “killing 75,000 Americans a year. A year. And it’s not just a bunch of people who it’s their own fault, why are they taking drugs? It’s a lot of these drugs that are fentanyl and dangerous opiates are laced to look like prescription drugs and, you know, recreational drugs.
“So, if you have a daughter or son who goes to a party and someone says, ‘Take a Valium,’ that could be fentanyl and kill them. And that’s by intent, on the part of the Chinese.”
Hanson added: “So, it wants to rectify the presence of China, stop the narco-terrorism that’s sponsored by or occurs with the help of Russia and China. And in that matter, it’s a new Monroe Doctrine.”
Analysts: Don’t be fooled; New Trump national security strategy targets China added by Editor Two on
View all posts by Editor Two →