White House Hopeful Rubio to Unveil Foreign Policy 'Doctrine'

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio will set out an uncompromising doctrine for wielding American power Wednesday, in the first major foreign policy address of his White House campaign.

According to remarks obtained by AFP, Rubio will vow more "clarity and consistency" in the pursuit of U.S. interests, firing barbs at Russia, China and Iran, while setting himself against years of alleged vacillation by President Barack Obama.

The 43-year-old Florida Senator will present a hawkish three-pillared credo founded on military power, the protection of economic interests and the promotion of American values -- in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

"To restore American Strength, my first priority will be to adequately fund our military," Rubio will say, making a tried-and-tested pitch to security minded Republican voters.

"This would be a priority even in times of peace and stability, though the world today is neither."

With 544 days until the 2016 election, Rubio is among the favorites to win the Republican nomination.

Recent polls put him ahead or within touching distance of his former political mentor Jeb Bush and Wisconsin's conservative governor Scott Walker.

Unlike Jeb Bush, Rubio polls well across the party's evangelical-moderate spectrum, making him a potentially potent political force.

But Rubio will echo Jeb's older brother, president George W. Bush, in his tough military tinged approach to managing America's role in the world.

"As president, I will use American power to oppose any violations of international waters, airspace, cyberspace, or outer space," he will say, according to draft remarks.

"This includes the economic disruption caused when one country invades another, as well as the chaos caused by disruptions in chokepoints such as the South China Sea or the Strait of Hormuz."

"Russia, China, Iran, or any other nation that attempts to block global commerce will know to expect a response from my administration." 

Republicans have lashed out at Iran's recent seizure of the Maersk Tigris cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, branding it a "deliberate provocation" and evidence Obama's tentative nuclear deal with Iran is ill conceived.

The vessel carries the flag of the Marshall Islands, whose ships the United States has agreed to defend.

"Gone will be the days of debating where a ship is flagged or whether it is our place to criticize territorial expansionism," Rubio will say.

With former secretary of state Hillary Clinton the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination, foreign policy is likely feature prominently in the 2016 campaign.

Republicans are keen to hit Clinton's record as America's top diplomat and tether her legacy to chaos in the Middle East and the more unpopular of Obama's policies.

Rubio will also call for "moral clarity regarding America's core values."

"We must recognize that our nation is a global leader not just because it has superior arms, but because it has superior aims." 

"As president, I will support the spread of economic and political freedom, reinforce our alliances, (and) resist efforts by large powers to subjugate their smaller neighbors."