US Congress would approve troop deployment to Taiwan if China attacks island, Rep. Michael McCaul says
The U.S. Congress would authorize a direct military confrontation with China if Beijing launches an attack on Taiwan, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul told Fox News Friday night. The Republican representative from Texas was speaking from Taipei during a three-day visit by a bipartisan delegation to the self-governing island.
US lawmakers would agree to put boots on the ground if people in the United States supported the measure, McCaul said, without specifying how exactly that support would be measured. “If Communist China invaded Taiwan, that would definitely be on the table and something that would be discussed by Congress and with the American people,” he said, adding that “If the American people support this, Congress will follow.”
However, McCaul insisted that a “Conflict is always a last resort” and describes the visit of the American delegation as a means of “provide a deterrent to China.” US-China relations have already been strained by visits by US delegations to Taiwan, which China considers an inalienable part of its sovereign territory.
The representative also argues that discussions about a possible use of force by America in the Indo-Pacific region serve as a “peace deterrent” Since “You don’t have NATO in the Pacific.” To do otherwise would be to invite “aggression and war” McCaul asserted.
Beijing has repeatedly opposed Taiwan’s contacts with the United States. The Chinese Foreign Ministry warned on Wednesday that the Taiwan issue is “the first red line not to cross in Sino-American relations”. Washington formally adheres to the one-China policy, according to which Taiwan is considered an integral part of China. At the same time, the United States maintains close informal relations with the autonomous island and supplies it with weapons.
Washington has stepped up its military support for Taiwan in recent months. In the Wall Street Journal, it was reported that the United States plans to increase its military presence on the island from 30 to between 100 and 200 troops as it seeks to help Taiwan return the island. “harder to attack”. In early March, the US State Department also announced it was approving arms sales to Taipei, including $619 million worth of ammunition for F-16 fighter jets.
On Saturday, the Chinese military announced the launch of three days of exercises in the Taiwan Strait. The drills, held concurrently with McCaul’s visit to Taipei and just a day after Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen’s return from the United States, were intended as a warning to Taiwan and “external forces,” said the Chinese army.
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