Some Republican lawmakers are calling on President Joe Biden to reaffirm U.S. support for Taiwan amid escalating Chinese military provocations.
Tensions have ratcheted up over the past week, as China has sent a total of 150 military planes into the air defense zone around Taiwan, the democratically governed island that Beijing views as a breakaway province and hasnât ruled out the use of force to achieve unification.
The intensity of Beijingâs sustained military harassment, beginning Oct. 1 as the regime celebrated its founding anniversary, continued for five consecutive days in a record-breaking show of force, drawing anxiety both in Taiwan and abroad about a possible Chinese attack.
âThe Chinese Communist Partyâs encroachment of Taiwanâs airspace is inexcusable,â Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) told The Epoch Times. âPresident Biden must respond to this aggression and reaffirm the United Statesâ commitment to our friends in Taiwan.â
The White House and the State Department have criticized the Chinese military activities, saying such actions undermine regional peace and risk miscalculation. âTough and direct exchangesâ on Taiwan also took place during a six-hour closed-door meeting between national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign affairs official Yang Jiechi on Oct. 6, Sullivan told reporters in Brussels on Oct. 7.
The United States committed to maintaining unofficial diplomatic ties with Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, when the Carter administration switched diplomatic recognition to the Chinese regime. The act requires the United States to provide aid to Taiwan to ensure the island has a sufficient self-defense capability.
Ahead of Taiwanâs National Day on Oct. 10, some U.S. lawmakers have sent congratulatory letters to President Tsai Ing-wen to express their support.
âWe are mindful that Taiwan stands at the forefront of confronting challenges posed by the Chinese government,â wrote Sen. Bob Menedez (D-N.J.) and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), co-chairmen of the Senate Taiwan Caucus. The stepped-up military threats from Beijing makes it ânow more important than ever to defend the democratic values and free-market principles embodied by Taiwanâs people and government,â they wrote in an Oct. 5 letter.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) called on Biden to work with allies to ensure the Chinese regime respects the status quo and Taiwanâs sovereignty, saying the âChinese Communist Party intended to âintimidate Taiwan and send a message to the rest of the free world.
âIf Beijingâs recklessness is not met with international condemnation, Xi Jinping will think he has a green light for further aggression,â he said in a statement on Oct. 4, referring to Chinaâs top leader.
Taiwan has assessed cross-strait tensions to be at their worst in four decades, in light of the recent Chinese military threats. If Taiwan were to fall, it would signify that âin todayâs global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy,â Taiwanâs President Tsai Ing-wen warned in an Oct. 5 op-ed for Foreign Affairs magazine.
Feng Chongyi, an associate professor in China studies at the University of Technology in Sydney, said that the Chinese regimeâs goal in mounting military pressure on Taiwan is two-fold: to boost domestic nationalism and to win concessions from Washington.
âThe Biden administration has sent off the signal that it wants to build closer ties with China ⊠they want peace rather than war,â he told The Epoch Times, making a note of the White Houseâs statement that it doesnât seek conflict with China.
To the regime, this is a display of weakness, according to Feng. It means âyou need to negotiate with me and give ground in some other areas.â
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks recently pledged to offer additional military support to Taiwan. The United States is the islandâs largest arms supplier.
âWe have a significant amount of capability forward in the region to tamp down any such potential,â she told a panel hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Oct. 1, when asked about the possibility of a Chinese invasion. âThe Taiwanese, their ability to defend themselves effectively is a game-changer in terms of that deterrent calculus for China.â
Taiwan has planned to spend an additional $8.69 billion in defense over the next five years to upgrade weapons, including cruise missiles and warships.
Luo Ya contributed to this report.
Forget it! My dollar says Kamala already worked a deal to let China take Taiwan without the U.S. lifting a finger!
And FJB!