Utah Valley Times

WASHINGTON—During a Foreign Relations Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) pressed Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the Administration’s delay in delivering a comprehensive strategy to counter China, as mandated by legislation included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022. The Administration is nearly one year late in submitting this strategy to Congress.

Last month, the National Security Council offered an in camera review of the strategy to Senator Romney but has not followed up on scheduling it. During their exchange, Secretary Blinken committed to assisting with the scheduling and assured Romney he would follow up.

Senator Romney stated, “Mr. Secretary, it’s good to see you and appreciate the extraordinary commitment that you have made over the last years to continue to foster American interests around the world. I’m sure we don’t agree on all the topics, but your devotion to American interests is noteworthy, and certainly something that I applaud.”

Romney expressed disappointment with China's trajectory post-World War II and post-Soviet Union collapse, stating its ambition is "to lead the world—dominate the world militarily, economically, geopolitically." He emphasized that his legislation aimed at creating a bipartisan group to develop a comprehensive strategy against China's ambitions had not been fulfilled by the Administration.

Secretary Blinken responded affirmatively regarding China’s global ambitions and acknowledged Romney's leadership on this issue. “We announced the public strategy back in the spring of ‘22... But yes, the NSC... has made available [for] classified strategy for in camera review,” said Blinken. He promised to address any scheduling issues and explore further steps.

Romney reiterated that while an in camera review was appropriate, it did not meet statutory requirements for submitting both a classified report and an unclassified summary to Congress. He stressed that detailed tactical steps were necessary for an effective long-term strategy against China.

Blinken concluded by assuring Romney he would return with further information on fulfilling these commitments.

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