McMaster appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” with host Margaret Brennan, who asked, “What do you think is the impact then, of this growing alliance between Russia and China, and you know, is China going to be emboldened by what happens next in Europe?”
“I think possibly depending on how we respond, and of course, China already is more and more aggressive in terms of extending and tightening its exclusive grip on power internally, you’ve seen how they’ve gone across sectors of the economy, continuing the genocidal campaign in Xinjiang, extinguishing human freedom in Hong Kong, persecuting journalists and anybody who might criticize the Chinese government during the Olympics have been intimidated or imprisoned,” McMaster replied. “And then, of course externally as well, Margaret, and we’ve seen them bludgeon Indian soldiers to death on the Himalayan frontier.”
“You’re weaponizing these islands in the South China Sea,” he stated. “Now they’re painting some of their naval ships Coast Guard colors so they can claim really the biggest land grab in history in the South China Sea. And then, of course, Taiwan is probably the most dangerous flashpoint, and we’ve seen how aggressive they’ve been there as well. So it’s really important, I think, for the free world to come together to strengthen again our confidence and to communicate to these totalitarian regimes that they can’t accomplish their objectives at our expense.”
