[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 20, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E983-E984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IS COSCO STRATEGIC THREAT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 20, 1997

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, does the possible presence of the Chinese 
Ocean Shipping Co. [Cosco] in an American port represent a strategic 
threat to United States interests?
  That is what I've asked Navy Secretary John Dalton to determine. 
Given the efforts of the People's Republic of China to manipulate 
American elections, given the PRC's success in securing ports on both 
sides of the Panama Canal, given the continued absences of human rights 
in China and the continued trade deficits we face with that country, I 
believe it is a fair question and one that we are obliged to ask as 
Members of Congress.
  I place in today's Record a recent Washington Times story explaining, 
if such an explanation were necessary, why America should be concerned 
with the proposal to give

[[Page E984]]

China the former Navy base at Long Beach, and the unseemly help by the 
Clinton administration in facilitating the deal.

                      [From the Washington Times]

   Solomon: Is Cosco ``Strategic Threat?'' Long Beach Deal Triggers 
                                Concern

                         (By Rowan Scarborough)

       A senior House Republican yesterday asked Navy Secretary 
     John H. Dalton to report whether the Chinese Ocean Shipping 
     Co. (Cosco) represents a ``global tactical or strategic 
     threat'' to the Navy.
       The effort by Rep. Gerald B.H. Solomon, chairman of the 
     House Rules Committee, to force the Navy to make an 
     assessment is the latest development in a campaign to block 
     Cosco from taking over the abandoned Long Beach Naval Station 
     in California.
       ``In order to understand the magnitude of the growing 
     threat of the PRC [People's Republic of China], I would like 
     you to state the U.S. Navy's position on [Cosco],'' Mr. 
     Solomon, New York Republican, wrote in a one-page letter to 
     Mr. Dalton.
       ``Considering their potential world-wide information 
     gathering capabilities, a history as the delivery system of 
     weapons of mass destruction to terrorist countries and the 
     size of this fleet under direct control of the communist 
     regime--does Cosco pose a potential global tactical or 
     strategic threat against the U.S. Navy?''
       The Solomon letter represents a more specific question for 
     the Navy. Before, congressional inquiries have centered on 
     whether Cosco at Long Beach would be a regional threat. The 
     congressman wants to know if Cosco, and its 600-ship fleet, 
     poses a danger to the Navy itself.
       Mr. Solomon was one of the first in Congress to speak out 
     against the Chinese-Long Beach connection.
       ``This is almost a caricature of Lenin's prediction that 
     the West will hand the rope to its Communist executioners,'' 
     he said March 10. ``The Clinton administration seems to be 
     going out of its way to help the most serious threat to 
     American security, the so-called People's Republic of 
     China.''
       Cosco plans to lease 144 acres to operate a large container 
     terminal, giving Beijing an important beach-head in making 
     Cosco one of the world's largest carriers.
       Lawmakers in recent weeks have emerged from closed-door 
     intelligence briefings with conflicting interpretations.
       Conservatives who oppose the deal say the intelligence 
     shows Cosco is a tool of the Chinese People's Liberation 
     Army, trafficking in weapons of mass destruction to known 
     terrorist states such as Iran.
       But local Long Beach legislators say the briefings show 
     Cosco is not a threat.
       President Clinton personally backed the city of Long 
     Beach's overture to Cosco, after a commission had targeted 
     the station for closure as part of armed forces downsizing.
       The negotiations occurred at a time China is suspected of 
     funneling millions of dollars in illegal campaign 
     contributions into the United States in a government-
     sponsored operation to influence the 1996 election.
       Some Republicans wonder if there is a connection between 
     Cosco's expansion plans and the Democratic fund-raising 
     scandal.
       Reps. Duncan Hunter and Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, both 
     California Republicans, want to stop the Cosco-Long Beach 
     marriage through legislation attached to the 1998 defense 
     authorization bill. The House National Security Committee is 
     schedule to write the bill next month.
       However, the Cosco transaction may die before the Navy 
     officially transfers the property to the city's Harbor 
     Commission.
       A coalition of conservationists and history buffs have 
     filed suit to stop the project, which calls for leveling 
     every naval station building.
       A judge in Los Angeles has ordered the city to terminate 
     the Cosco lease and re-evaluate the plan's environmental 
     impact.
       The New York Times reported yesterday that Clinton 
     appointee, Dorothy Robyn, in November urged the 
     preservationists to abandon their effort to save any 
     buildings.
       Miss Robyn, who serves on the National Economic Council, 
     told the paper she made the calls as a favor to Long Beach's 
     mayor. She said she had no contacts with Cosco officials.
       Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, has asked 
     the Federal Maritime Commission to report whether Cosco is 
     guilty of predatory pricing.

     

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