Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul said on Friday night that if China attacked Taiwan, the US Congress would approve a direct military battle with Beijing. The Texas Republican congressman was speaking from Taipei while on a three-day trip with a bipartisan delegation to the independent island.
McCaul stated that American lawmakers would agree to sending troops abroad if Americans support the proposal, but he did not specify how exactly this support would be gauged. He said that "if the American people support this, the Congress will follow," saying that "if communist China invaded Taiwan, it would certainly be on the table and something that would be discussed by Congress and with the American people."
A conflict is always a last resort, McCaul stressed, and he characterized the US delegation's trip as a means of "providing deterrence to China." The travels of American delegations to Taiwan, which China views as an inalienable part of its sovereign territory, have in the past soured relations between the US and China.
Additionally, the spokesperson argued that since "NATO is not in the Pacific," speculations about possible American use of force in the Indo-Pacific region act as a "deterrent for peace." Otherwise, McCaul argued, you would be courting "aggression and war."
Beijing has consistently fought against Taiwan's interactions with the US. The Taiwan issue is "the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations," the Chinese Foreign Ministry warned on Wednesday. Washington formally upholds the One China policy, according to which Taiwan is regarded as a fundamental component of China. The US also provides the self-governing island with arms while maintaining tight informal ties with it.
In recent months, Washington has increased its military assistance to Taiwan. According to the Wall Street Journal, in order to assist Taiwan in making the island "harder to assault," the US intends to raise its army presence on the island from 30 to between 100 and 200 soldiers. Early in March, the US State Department also declared that it had authorized the transfer of armaments to Taipei, including $619 million worth of F-16 fighter jet ammunition.
The start of three days of exercises in the Taiwan Strait was announced by the Chinese military on Saturday. The drills were timed to coincide with McCaul's visit to Taipei and were intended to serve as a warning to Taiwan and "external forces," according to the Chinese military. They were also held just one day after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrived back from the US.
McCaul stated that American lawmakers would agree to sending troops abroad if Americans support the proposal, but he did not specify how exactly this support would be gauged. He said that "if the American people support this, the Congress will follow," saying that "if communist China invaded Taiwan, it would certainly be on the table and something that would be discussed by Congress and with the American people."
A conflict is always a last resort, McCaul stressed, and he characterized the US delegation's trip as a means of "providing deterrence to China." The travels of American delegations to Taiwan, which China views as an inalienable part of its sovereign territory, have in the past soured relations between the US and China.
Additionally, the spokesperson argued that since "NATO is not in the Pacific," speculations about possible American use of force in the Indo-Pacific region act as a "deterrent for peace." Otherwise, McCaul argued, you would be courting "aggression and war."
Beijing has consistently fought against Taiwan's interactions with the US. The Taiwan issue is "the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations," the Chinese Foreign Ministry warned on Wednesday. Washington formally upholds the One China policy, according to which Taiwan is regarded as a fundamental component of China. The US also provides the self-governing island with arms while maintaining tight informal ties with it.
In recent months, Washington has increased its military assistance to Taiwan. According to the Wall Street Journal, in order to assist Taiwan in making the island "harder to assault," the US intends to raise its army presence on the island from 30 to between 100 and 200 soldiers. Early in March, the US State Department also declared that it had authorized the transfer of armaments to Taipei, including $619 million worth of F-16 fighter jet ammunition.
The start of three days of exercises in the Taiwan Strait was announced by the Chinese military on Saturday. The drills were timed to coincide with McCaul's visit to Taipei and were intended to serve as a warning to Taiwan and "external forces," according to the Chinese military. They were also held just one day after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrived back from the US.
