Monday, during an appearance on FNC’s “Hannity,” 2024 GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy insisted his position on the United States’ role defending the island of Taiwan was “caricatured.”
Ramaswamy told host Sean Hannity that he would defend Taiwan but also wanted to achieve so-called semiconductor independence.
Partial transcript as follows:
HANNITY: All right. So what specifically — the issue of you and Taiwan until we have enough microchips in 2028, what is your policy if China seeks to fulfill their territorial ambitions with Taiwan?
RAMASWAMY: So I’m the only presidential candidate in either party who has had the courage to say that I’m not going to embrace the One China policy which is the posture of both political parties today, that I’m not going to just adopt strategic ambiguity, we can’t afford that. We need to be clear that we will defend Taiwan. That’s different from strategic ambiguity now.
We have to defend Taiwan until we achieve semiconductor independence at which point we resume our current posture of strategic ambiguity, which is exactly what the U.S. adopts today. So, Sean —
HANNITY: All right. So let me use a hypothetical —
RAMASWAMY: — reminding people that right now, the U.S.’s position is a One China policy, yeah.
HANNITY: Let me ask you this. At what point, for example, if Russia wanted to put nuclear weapons 90 miles south of our border in Cuba, we did have a Cuban missile crisis, what would your posture be there? In other words, if you’re saying as long as Taiwan provides —
RAMASWAMY: Dead set against it.
HANNITY: — semiconductor chips, we’ll help them, but after that, they’re on their own?
RAMASWAMY: No. Actually, Sean, and that’s again how my position’s been caricatured. I will remind you and everybody else —
HANNITY: I’m not — that’s what you seem to be saying.
RAMASWAMY: — that right now, the United States —
HANNITY: I’m listening.
RAMASWAMY: No, it’s not what I’m saying because — well, I’ll give it to you very simply. Right now, the United States’ policy towards Taiwan is a One China policy. Donald Trump was derided, he was made fun of for daring to pick up a phone call from the Taiwanese president. The United States of America right now does not even recognize Taiwan as a nation.
I view it differently. I am clear that we will defend Taiwan, I’m the only politician in either party that has the courage to say it.
HANNITY: Beyond 2028?
RAMASWAMY: And then I would resume — well, I would resume the current position of the United States after we’ve achieved semiconductor independence. So that’s the hard truth, Sean, is nobody in either party has the courage to actually say —
HANNITY: Okay.
RAMASWAMY: — Taiwan’s even a nation, I do, and that’s why we’re going to defend. Afterwards, we’ll resume our position of strategic ambiguity which is the current status quo, I will remind you, Sean.
So, I think that that level of clarity would make Xi Jinping a fool to invade Taiwan before we have semiconductor independence and it also helps Taiwan increase its own military spending as a percentage of GDP, which is dangerously low today. And I think that that’s the way that I lead with American interests while avoiding World War III, ensuring that we have true semiconductor independence in this country and deterring Chinese aggression.
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