Governor's executive order is right call. We'll lead the way against Chinese adversity.

Alexander B. Gray
·3 min read
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Oklahoma Cyber Command employs dozens of cybersecurity professionals who monitor for attacks on the state's servers from monitoring rooms such as this one.
Oklahoma Cyber Command employs dozens of cybersecurity professionals who monitor for attacks on the state's servers from monitoring rooms such as this one.

On June 13, Gov. Kevin Stitt issued Executive Order 2024-11, the most comprehensive executive action taken to date by a state governor to address the United States’ greatest national security threat: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The executive order directs the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) to conduct an annual risk assessment of Oklahoma’s vulnerability to China’s malign influence, from cybersecurity risks to economic and supply chain weaknesses to public health, grid, and water security threats. OMES is tasked with auditing the state’s procurements and supply chains in a proactive effort to find potential vulnerabilities.

The order directs all agencies of state government, working with the treasurer, to ensure that retirement funds administered by the state are not inadvertently benefiting a foreign adversary or that those funds are not being invested in ways that leave Oklahomans vulnerable to potential adversaries like the CCP.

Finally, and most creatively, the order requires OMES to conduct a “stress test” of state operations and activities to ensure that, in the event of a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific region, Oklahomans are not left unduly exposed. Undoubtedly, all major provisions of the order will reveal concerning weaknesses in Oklahoma’s susceptibility to Beijing’s predatory policies.

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Conflict with China would directly impact US states

Stitt’s action acknowledges the reality, accepted by both the Trump and Biden administrations, that the CCP poses the gravest threat to American security in the world today. Further, while the federal government is responsible under the Constitution for national security, the unique nature of the China threat requires officials at the state, county, and municipal levels to act proactively and decisively to protect their citizens.

Unlike the global war on terror, which most Americans watched passively from their television screens, a potential conflict with a competing superpower like China would not leave the American homeland untouched. What is likely to begin in the Taiwan Strait or South China Sea would very likely spread to U.S. shores, as Beijing practices “unrestricted warfare” in an effort to distract, demoralize, and ultimately defeat its adversary. Such a scenario is not science fiction or a Tom Clancy novel; senior Chinese officials write openly about the vulnerability of the U.S. homeland to interference, subterfuge, and sabotage.

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Alexander B. Gray
Alexander B. Gray

In the event of a potential conflict with the CCP, the federal government will be consumed with the immediate theater of conflict. Meanwhile, China will pursue its well-stated intention to undermine U.S. resolve through attacks on our supply chains, food supply, industrial capacity, and critical infrastructure. These threats will be felt by all Americans, including Oklahomans. It is incumbent upon our elected leaders to act now to prepare for such an eventuality by understanding the threat, raising awareness, and formulating sound policies to address it before conflict occurs.

Gov. Stitt’s bold action is a blueprint for governors and legislators across the country to harden their states against the CCP. And, as the governor’s order rightly notes, it is the CCP that threatens Americans’ interests and values; the Chinese people, themselves the greatest victims of the CCP, are not our foes. Oklahoma is now leading the nation in taking substantive, nonpartisan action to address the threat the CCP poses to America’s interests and values.

Alexander B. Gray is the Chief Executive Officer of American Global Strategies LLC, an Oklahoma City-based international strategic consulting firm. He served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff of the White House National Security Council under President Donald Trump (2019-21).

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Stitt's order against Chinese cyber threats is blueprint for states