DeSantis’s ‘peace through strength’: Secure the border and fend off Chinese threat

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) unveiled his foreign policy proposal Friday, which focused primarily on the looming threat of Chinese dominance. The Florida Republican preached the necessity of achieving “peace through strength,” defining the strategy differently than some of his 2024 Republican primary foes.

“We are in an age in which we now have a peer competitor, and that competitor is the Chinese Communist Party,” he said at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.

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In outlining his plan for staving off China’s influence and power, DeSantis first pointed to a traditional domestic issue in the United States: “We have a major national security issue in our own country at our own southern border,” he said.

“They are not all coming from Mexico and Central America. They are coming from all over the world. From the Middle East, from Russia, from China,” he added. According to the presidential candidate, enemies of America are taking advantage of the southern border’s insecurity.

He further claimed “lengthy conflicts”— specifically pointing to the war in Ukraine — are benefiting the Chinese Communist Party as its threat looms.

DeSantis explained such conflicts serve as distractions for the U.S. while depleting “our already dwindling Western weapons and ammunition stockpiles.” He continued, explaining the threat “posed by the CCP requires our primary focus and attention right now.”

The Florida governor further laid out several necessities for the U.S. to have the ability to hold off Chinese dominance. One such imperative is avoiding any “ill-defined or unnecessary conflicts.” He added that the country must reject “ceding American sovereignty to international organizations like the United Nations.”

Per DeSantis, any policies, and particularly any military conflict the U.S. engages in, need to boast the support of the public. “As a veteran of the Iraq war, I recognize the gravity of deploying US troops in combat, and I hope to never have to do that as commander in chief.”

However, he said, “If such a duty calls, I will ensure that the U.S. will be fully committed to winning. Our armed forces will have what they need to be lethal and capable, preferably to deter conflict in the first place, but also to achieve a decisive overwhelming victory.”

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As part of his proposal to strengthen the U.S. to the end of fending off China, he announced his plan for a four-ocean Navy. Such a Navy would boast 355 ships by the end of DeSantis’s first term as president and 385 at the end of a second term. It would additionally pave a path for an eventual 600 ships in the next 20 years.

DeSantis’s call for pursuing “peace through strength,” made particularly popular among Republicans under former President Ronald Reagan, diverged from those of former Vice President Mike Pence and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, among others. Haley and Pence have been some of the most steadfast supporters of Ukraine in its effort against Russia, emphasizing that a win for Russia would essentially be a win for China. However, DeSantis’s approach to Ukraine and other conflicts has been to encourage an end to them, particularly as the U.S. gives an increasing amount of assistance to the country.