Cotton stance on China story focus

Wall Street Journal Executive Editor Gerald F. Seib wrote an opinion piece Monday about U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., calling him “the loudest voice in attacking China’s behavior amid the coronavirus pandemic.”

The piece, titled “Tom Cotton Has a China Coronavirus Attack Plan,” was based, in part, on an interview with Cotton.

“More Americans than ever, like more Asians than ever, recognize that China is a pariah state, and we ought to treat them like a pariah state,” the Dardanelle native said.

Among other things, Cotton would spend billions of dollars to “build up joint military capabilities with allies in the region,” Seib wrote.

Cotton also wants to see greater arms sales to Taiwan, Seib said, noting “Beijing’s leaders have made clear that arming Taiwan is a bright red line for them.”

Seib portrayed Cotton’s strategy as broad, expensive and potentially risky, saying it “begs the question of whether demonizing China will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Does treating China as a mortal enemy reflect a new reality, or does it create that reality at a time when a more benign course is still possible?”

Noting Cotton’s close ties to President Donald Trump, Seib said Cotton’s plan may be a “sign of where the [China] policy debate is heading.”

Cotton appears to have liked the story. His office emailed a copy of the piece to reporters, shortly after it was published. Planning to visit the nation’s capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (501) 908-5204 or flockwood@arkansasonline.com. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s

Washington bureau? It’s available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.