“DETERRENCE NECESSARY”
The United States switched its diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, but Washington remains the island’s most important ally and supplier of military hardware.
US President Joe Biden has said he does not support Taiwan’s independence but also that he would back sending forces to defend the island. The official US position on intervention is one of strategic ambiguity.
McCaul on Monday affirmed that the US Congress “on a bipartisan basis supports Taiwan”.
“We are not here as Republicans or as Democrats, but as Americans,” he said.
The US Congress in April allocated US$8 billion in military support for Taiwan, enraging Beijing, which warned it would only increase the “risk of conflict”.
Asked on Monday how quickly the US was getting military support to Taiwan, McCaul admitted: “I’d like to see it faster.”
“But they are forthcoming,” he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping “has bold and aggressive ambitions, and we just need to do everything we can to make it possible for him to see that the risk outweighs the reward”, he added.
“The key is to make sure that Taiwan has the weapons necessary for deterrence so when Xi’s looking at that calculation it doesn’t look good for him,” he said.
