In Godzilla vs Kong, the real monster is a Florida billionaire who decided to build a giant robot and ship the components to Hong Kong through a hyperloop connecting the two cities. Shipping weapons to the People’s Republic of China raises significant red flags, including violating export control licensing. That is the polite way of saying the United States does not want private companies accidently improving the military of countries hostile to the United States. One such example was Loral Space Systems accidently improving the accuracy of China’s ICBMs in the 1990s by providing improvements to guidance systems for launching satellites.
Responsibilities of the President of the United States include:
(1) In furtherance of world peace and the security and foreign policy of the United States, the President is authorized to control the import and the export of defense articles and defense services and to provide foreign policy guidance to persons of the United States involved in the export and import of such articles and services. The President is authorized to designate those items which shall be considered as defense articles and defense services for the purposes of this section and to promulgate regulations for the import and export of such articles and services. The items so designated shall constitute the United States Munitions List.
(2) Decisions on issuing export licenses under this section shall take into account whether the export of an article would contribute to an arms race, aid in the development of weapons of mass destruction, support international terrorism, increase the possibility of outbreak or escalation of conflict, or prejudice the development of bilateral or multilateral arms control or nonproliferation agreements or other arrangements.
(3) In exercising the authorities conferred by this section, the President may require that any defense article or defense service be sold under this chapter as a condition of its eligibility for export, and may require that persons engaged in the negotiation for the export of defense articles and services keep the President fully and currently informed of the progress and future prospects of such negotiations.
22 U.S.C. § 2778(A)(1) and (2).
A giant robot in the shape of Godzilla with missiles and lasers absolutely would be covered under the control of arms exports and imports. Shipping the material in secret from Florida to China through a hyperloop over 8,500 miles long clearly was done to avoid inspection and all those “pesky” regulations. Moreover, the transcontinental hyperloop raises serious issues of not filing permits for soil removal, which can cause property damage across the United States. Furthermore, an accident with those weapons in transit can further pose a risk to human life.
Export control licensing exists to protect the United States from an arms race and keep nations hostile from improving their military. In Godzilla vs Kong, Apex ignored these laws. After the final battle between the titans, removing the wreckage would be highly problematic, as the People’s Republic of China would claim jurisdiction for remediating MechaGodzilla, raising the exact threat export control licensing is supposed to prevent.
