US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has directed the State Department to ramp up critical-language study beginning with Mandarin but also encompassing other critical languages such as Russian, Hindi, Arabic and Farsi and called on "proud Americans" to learn foreign languages.
In an opinion piece for Newsweek, Pompeo said, "...to meet the challenges (foreign policy) posed by the CCP's expansive ambitions and Iran-backed terrorism, we should follow the example set by our farsighted predecessors. That's why I've directed the State Department to ramp up critical-language study, beginning with Mandarin but also encompassing other critical languages such as Russian, Hindi, Arabic and Farsi."
Recalling the former US president Dwight D. Eisenhower's language programs of the 1950s, he said, "Washington understood that foreign language proficiency is critical to understanding the intentions of nation-states--a crucial factor in determining the proper mix of cooperation, containment and deterrence that enables the United State to advance its interests abroad."
"Secretary Mike Pompeo invites all Americans to be a part of a national effort to make our diplomacy more effective through critical language study," US State Department said in a tweet.
This development comes amid growing tensions with China on several issues pretaining to COVID-19, trade, Hong Kong security law and persecution of minorities in Xinjiang province.
On Thursday, Pompeo had said that the threat from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) "is real" and added that the US has allowed the CCP to "walk all over us".
"Look, this risk from the Chinese Communist Party is real. For 40 years - and this isn't political, remotely - Republican presidents, Republican congresses, Democrat, it didn't make a difference - we went on bended knee. We allowed the Chinese Communist Party to walk all over us," Pompeo said in an interview with Erick Erickson of The Erick Erickson Show on WSB Atlanta.
"And President Trump is working to right that ship. It'll be good for American jobs, it'll be good for American security," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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