A report by the Financial Times has revealed Chinese plans to curb exports of rare earth minerals that are often in demand by US weaponry manufacturers, especially ones that create F-35 fighter jets, namely the Lockheed Martin Corp.
China wants to weaponize their control of the rare earth elements to hurt American defense capabilities.@RepSwalwell and I created the Critical Materials Caucus to end dependence on foreign critical minerals by investing in U.S. production & processing. https://t.co/2AnQmH6anH
— Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (@GReschenthaler) February 17, 2021
The highly-sophisticated warplanes are one of the US products the arms industry is quite proud of, as it serves in strike missions and intelligence ones.
In the report, the FT cites a Chinese government adviser, who explained his government's plans to know whether or not "the US may have trouble making F-35 fighter jets if China imposes an export ban."
— Disclose.tv 🚨 (@disclosetv) February 16, 2021
Why are we getting rare earth minerals for our sophisticated weaponry from China? https://t.co/KwvotVopI1
— Len Khodorkovsky (@MessageFromLen) February 16, 2021
Responding to the news, many social media users wondered about the reasons the US is relying on China for such material, needed for one of its most crucial pieces of defense weaponry, especially in light of the years-long trade war between the two countries.
According to the report, "China controls 80% of global rare earth supplies," which could have inspired Chinese ambitions of further extending its global control, including one over the US.
#ccp wants to become the leader of the world and take over the position of the United States. If the U.S. continues to connive at #ccp, the U.S. will only suffer its own consequences.#CCP_is_terrorist #CCPLiedPeopleDied#HumanRightsViolations
— Hunter (@Hunterwolfwang) February 17, 2021
