Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) is warning U.S. policymakers after a stealth visit to Taiwan to arm the nation as much as possible now in order to deter an invasion by China and not to let it become another case of “failed deterrence,” as with Ukraine.
“I was struck in my trip to Taiwan, and how many Taiwanese leaders brought up the invasion of Ukraine as a wakeup call, and it should be a wakeup call for all of us who might tend to discount the idea that Xi Jinping will launch an invasion against Taiwan,” Gallagher said in an interview with Fox News about his trip.
He added:
I think we are in the window of maximum danger and we need to learn the right lessons from the failure of deterrence in Ukraine. In order to preserve the peace in Asia, President Tsai [Ing-wen] of Taiwan said she wakes up every day trying to increase the cost of a [Chinese Communist Party] invasion That’s what we need to help her do by clearing the backlog of foreign military sales items. For example, there are things we can do to prevent another catastrophic deterrence failure. We just need leadership and to act with a sense of urgency.
Gallagher is the chairman of the new House Select Committee on China, which was formed after Republicans took control of the House in January.
He told the Washington Post in a post-trip interview that the biggest takeaway from the trip, after meeting with Taiwanese leaders, is their frustration by delays in weapons shipments that Taiwan has purchased from the U.S., at the amount of $19 billioon.
“That was the biggest thing we heard from every major Taiwanese leader — concerns over delays,” Gallagher told the Post. “That’s troubling the Taiwanese, and I think that’s unacceptable.”
Those delayed weapons include anti-ship Harpoon missiles, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Stinger surface-to-air missiles, and F-16 fighter jets.
Gallagher said in an official statement:
I return from my trip to Taiwan even more convinced that the time to arm Taiwan to the teeth was yesterday. Taiwan is on the frontlines of authoritarian expansion. We must surge hard power west of the international date line in order to deter a Chinese Communist Party invasion before it’s too late. In particular, we should move heaven and earth to clear the nearly $19 billion backlog of Foreign Military Sales Items that have been approved but not delivered to Taiwan.
Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for not acting to arm Ukraine sooner and failing to deter Russia from invading in February 2o22.
Similarly, they warn that delays in arms sales to Taiwan could put the island democracy in a similar situation, as China becomes bolder in its military and diplomatic coercion against Taiwan.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, but Taiwan sees itself as a separate country. Chinese nationalists fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war with Chinese communists, setting up a separate government that would eventually become a thriving democracy.
The U.S. has acknowledged China’s position, but maintains strong informal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and supplies it with weapons under the Taiwan Relations Act. And U.S. lawmakers and officials have continued to visit Taiwan, despite warnings from China to refrain.
However, the CCP has never given up its ambition to “unite” Taiwan with China, including by force if necessary, with some China experts and even U.S. military officials predicting that could come sooner than later. Recently, commander of Air Mobility Command Gen. Mike Minihan predicted China would invade as early as 2025.
According to the Post, Gallagher kept his trip secret due to the belligerent reaction from China over then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)’s trip to Taiwan last year.
Gallagher has sought to keep work in the select committee bipartisan, given the seriousness of the threat from China to the entire nation. He said in his statement, “The Select Committee will work to expose the truth about the CCP’s pattern of aggression against America and our friends in order to forge bipartisan support for the actions necessary to deter CCP threats and defend our interests. I look forward to returning to Taiwan soon.”
Follow Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong on Twitter, Truth Social, or on Facebook.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.