NPR Interview on China's Military Build-up

June 4, 2018

Pentagon Views China as a Threat, Yet the FAA, Port of Portland, PCC and State of Oregon Continue to Promote the Training of Chinese Pilots

Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, now second in command at the Pentagon, was interviewed by Steve Inskeep on the 5/2/18 National Public Radio (NPR) Morning Edition program. See Pentagon's Number 2 Watches the Money - And The Future for a transcript of the interview.

Below is an excerpt from the interview addressing U.S. / China relations.

INSKEEP: Patrick Shanahan's ultimate goal in managing the world's largest military budget is to focus on future potential threats.

As everybody knows, China has been building up its military forces. And there's a degree of tension in that relationship. How does that affect your thinking here?

SHANAHAN: We think of China, as we see their growth in the military, their theft of intellectual property, we see all of those things as disruptive and, you know, threatening to the American way.

INSKEEP: Which I guess you had to deal with at Boeing long before this job.

SHANAHAN: Well, they were one of our biggest customers, as well. So here it's a lot easier in that regard. But their investment in military capability is different than where we've invested in the past so it certainly changes our calculus.

INSKEEP: I was thinking about the fact that the Chinese have aircraft carriers. The United States hasn't had to worry about another nation with a serious aircraft carrier fleet in a long time. Suddenly, they have aircraft carriers. You're thinking beyond that. You're thinking about what they do in space. What is your concern about what China does in space?

SHANAHAN: Space was always a sanctuary. It was a place where you didn't have to protect your assets. It was a place that you could operate freely. That's not the case anymore. And since so much of our commerce and way of life is affected by our use of GPS, sharing of communications, sharing of data that we need to make sure we're protected and that we have resilience so that we can continue day-to-day operation of our businesses and defensive systems.

INSKEEP: And so really the fact that we haven't had some significant space-based attack may solely be because we haven't had one yet.

Clearly Shanahan views China as a significant threat to U.S. interests especially the build-up of their military. That being the case, why are the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Port of Portland (Port), and Portland Community College with support from the Governor, the Oregon State Legislature, and local governments promoting and encouraging the training of Chinese pilots?

As noted in a 4/17/18 Oregon Aviation Watch posting, Foreign Students Receive Pilot Training at U.S. General Aviation Airports, the Port owned and operated Hillsboro and Troutdale airports are heavily involved in training Chinese pilots. Since 70 to 80 percent of China's airspace is militarized, there is a high likelihood that many of these pilots will serve in the military or police force upon returning to their native country.

As it now stands, Chinese and other foreign pilots training at Oregon and other U.S. airports, for the most part, have the right to fly wherever, whenever they want with little or no consideration for the impacted communities that are bearing the brunt of the noise, lead pollution, toxic emissions, national security and safety risks posed by these activities. The infrastructure and air traffic control tower costs are also underwritten by the American public.

The U.S. Congress authorizes and approves the FAA's budget and activities. Why is this legislative branch, in concert with state and local governments, so willing to compromise the health, well-being, livability, safety and security interests of their constituents in order to benefit student pilots from totalitarian regimes and other foreign countries?