You might wonder why we criticized the Navy for another in a series of mistakes with its latest frigate purchase. Why bother with that when the abuses of the deep state against Patriots have many concerned?

Well, reminding certain civil servants about basic constitutional principles, while it is a necessity, is not the only vital task at hand. The U.S. needs to hold China accountable for the depraved indifference to human life displayed in its cover-up. The good news is that we may have a golden chance for a lot of help.

According to a report from Reuters, the Chinese Communist Party is worried about a backlash on par with the one following Tiananmen Square. While that certainly explains the ChiComs’ ramped-up propaganda campaign, the facts will show that Beijing’s despots face this backlash because they earned it.

Imagine that this had been, say, an American pharmaceutical company that was implicated in covering up an outbreak to the point that it became a pandemic that sickened millions, killed a quarter-million people, all while wrecking the economy and causing deaths of despair. That company would have a hard time securing the naming rights to a dogfighting pit if it even survived the flurry of lawsuits.

Now, China is not a pharmaceutical company, so naturally, holding it accountable is going to look very different. One of the ways is to put a maritime squeeze on China. Thankfully, this is already underway, particularly with the United States walking away from the INF Treaty, which Russia was violating anyway.

Granted, the deployment of the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) is a start, especially from the B-1B Lancer (which can pack two dozen of these missiles). But America just doesn’t have that many B-1s and stopped production way too soon. Thankfully, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet also can carry this weapon, which packs a 1,000-pound high-explosive warhead. This makes our aircraft carriers much more menacing, but that doesn’t limit the problems China faces. Super Hornets can also fly from land bases, as well.

The other big bonus is that adding land-based missiles, especially on islands like Palawan and Singapore or near harbors like Haiphong, can make life much harder for the People’s Liberation Army Navy, especially since it still relies on oil imports, and supertankers remain the best option to transport oil to China from places like Iran and Venezuela. Without oil, most of the People’s Liberation Army Navy will have a hard time being battle-ready.

Given that so many countries have suffered from the pandemic that grew so bad because of China’s cover-up, the chance to score some payback will be something countries will be willing to take. Plus, there’s nothing wrong with a few well-timed weapon sales to Taiwan.

The fact is, China fears a backlash over the pandemic. In this case, those fears should be made very real. After all, the Butchers of Beijing need to learn that actions have consequences.