President Joe Biden singled out competition with Russia and China as part of his vision for the military branch’s role in national security as he addressed the United States Coast Guard Academy’s 2021 graduating class on Wednesday.
Speaking from the academy’s campus in New London, Connecticut, Biden recognized the accomplishments of the graduates amid an unprecedented pandemic before he outlined his belief that the US is at a «significant inflection point in world history,» broadly discussing the Coast Guard’s role in pandemic, storm, wildfire and flooding response. He emphasized his commitment to strategic competition with Russia and China, calling out those nations for «disruptive actions,» something, he said, he has discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. «When nations try to game the system or tip the rules in their favor, it throws everything off balance. That’s why we are so adamant that these areas of the world that are the arteries of trade and shipping remain peaceful, whether that’s the South China Sea, the Arabian Gulf, and, increasingly, the Arctic,» Biden said.
