Grant Newsham, a retired U.S. Marine Colonel with extensive experience in Asia, is sounding an alarm on China’s growing influence and aggression. He is the former U.S. Marine Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and the first U.S. Marine liaison officer to Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force.
His recent book, When China Attacks: A Warning to America, provides myriad ways in which China is undermining American power without direct confrontation. In an interview with Federal Newswire, Newsham discussed what he says is an urgent need for America to act.
China is Winning Without Fighting
Newsham describes China’s approach as "political warfare"—a strategy to achieve national goals without direct military conflict. The method includes economic, psychological, and drug warfare, according to Newsham, who believes the U.S. has failed to understand and counter the tactics effectively.
"China has already been at war with us," he says, pointing out that while America views war as something that starts with shots fired, China views war on a spectrum, with physical conflict a last step if necessary.
According to Newsham, one way China exerts control without direct conflict is through so-called "gray zone" activities. He describes the gray zone as a form of coercion that operates below the threshold of war but is enough to significantly influence the power dynamics in Asia.
"It’s like a hoodlum in your face… but he’s not touching you," Newsham said, emphasizing that the tactic keeps America and its allies on their back feet.
Until America pushes back, Newsham says, China will continue to press its advantage. “It is very much a form of warfare as the Chinese see it–you have to respond to it in that way.”
Economic and Drug Warfare to Undermine American Society
Newsham says economic dependency has allowed China to leverage American businesses and elites, a tactic he calls "proxy warfare." He criticizes U.S. businesses and influential figures for enabling China’s rise, and says major investments and technology transfers to China have strengthened the regime.
In his telling, prominent Americans are running cover for the Chinese government, making excuses like “China’s not really communist,” Newsham says. “If you put money in front of Westerners, they will generally perform like a sea lion at SeaWorld.”
Worse, he says, America’s dependence on China has hollowed out American industries, leaving "neighborhoods full of drug-addled people who had no prospects." He points to the opioid crisis as an example of China's drug warfare: "You have the Chinese… pumping [fentanyl] into the United States, and they just sit back and watch."
Reports show that as much as 97% of fentanyl and its precursors come from China, while US officials claim the Chinese Communist Party subsidizes and protects the industry.
Fentanyl has been devastating to American communities, resulting so far in nearly a million deaths. Newsham shared the story of a grieving father who called him, lamenting the government’s lack of response to the crisis.
"This is just a win-win from China’s perspective," Newsham says, asserting that fentanyl deaths and addiction weaken America both socially and economically. “The really amazing thing is there has been no reaction from the U.S. government.”
The Global Threat of China’s Growing Military Power
China’s military capabilities have improved dramatically in the last decade. Newsham recalls a time when the notion of a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan was dismissed as a "million-man swim." However, China has since accelerated its military advancements at a pace that has caught the U.S. off guard.
Newsham agrees with assessments that China is not only expanding its regional influence, but also building infrastructure and capabilities in other countries to project power globally. He warns that the Chinese military is now “something that nobody ought to laugh about.”
China’s control over the South China Sea is an example of China’s regional dominance. “You could send in an NYPD squad car through Times Square in the old days, and the criminals would part, but as soon as it passed, they closed back up–that’s what the Chinese have in the South China Sea,” Newsham says.
How America Should Fight Back
Newsham’s solution to China’s aggression goes beyond increasing military spending. While hard power remains crucial, he argues that America must also address the financial and technological dependencies that have emboldened China. He calls for a tougher stance on U.S. businesses that invest in China, stronger restrictions on technology exports, and more transparency about the corruption among China’s leadership.
"Expose the corruption of China’s top leaders… their foreign real estate, their bank accounts, their relatives who have green cards," he said, noting how effective this strategy was in the past when similar reports incited outrage among the Chinese Communist Party’s elite.
To regain its standing, Newsham claims America needs leadership that will communicate the China threat to the public. He believes the American people would respond if they understood the danger China poses.
“The American people, I’m not concerned about them at all. If there’s a leader who makes that case, people overseas will watch closely.”
Ultimately, America must be prepared to project power decisively, Newsham says. “There's no substitute for hard power,” he says, and relates it to “a military that can take on anybody that wants to challenge us and destroy them in an afternoon.”
