Conflict With China a ‘Last Resort’ but Possible With Public Support, McCaul Says
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said that, although military conflict between the United States and China is not something he desires, if Beijing were to attack Taiwan, that option would be “on the table” for Congress. “Conflict is always a last resort,” McCaul noted from Taipei in a Friday interview with Fox News. But, he added, “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.” As chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, McCaul led a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers to Taiwan on Thursday in a show of support for the island nation amid its escalating tensions with China. Last year, President Joe Biden made waves with his affirmation that the United States would move to defend Taiwan if the Chinese communist regime attempted to invade during a “60 Minutes” interview on Sept. 18. The instance was just one of several times Biden made such an assurance, though the White House has repeatedly walked back those promises, asserting that “U.S. policy has not changed” on the matter, and that, officially, the United States would not say whether it would defend Taiwan militarily or not. Taiwanese Skeptism Given Washington’s decision not to send troops to Ukraine, some Taiwanese citizens told Fox News that they were skeptical they would receive such support in the event of an attack. McCaul, however, stressed that the two situations were vastly different. “Taiwan is in a very different position from Ukraine,” he said. “Number one, they’re not battle tested or ready. They are not prepared for war.” But Ukraine, the congressman noted, has had the support of NATO to bolster its defenses. “You don’t have NATO in the Pacific,” he said. “That’s why, when looking at Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Australia, we need to start having these discussions as a deterrent for peace. Because if not, we’re going to invite aggression and war.” McCaul’s Friday remarks follow comments made on Thursday while in a meeting with Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te comparing Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler. “This struggle for global power, the balance of power that we find ourselves in today, often reminds me of my father’s generation, often referred to as the greatest in the United States,” he said, per NBC News. “Then we had Hitler, and today we have Putin and Chairman Xi.” Andrew Thornebrooke contributed to this report.
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Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said that, although military conflict between the United States and China is not something he desires, if Beijing were to attack Taiwan, that option would be “on the table” for Congress.
“Conflict is always a last resort,” McCaul noted from Taipei in a Friday interview with Fox News.
But, he added, “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.”
As chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, McCaul led a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers to Taiwan on Thursday in a show of support for the island nation amid its escalating tensions with China.
Last year, President Joe Biden made waves with his affirmation that the United States would move to defend Taiwan if the Chinese communist regime attempted to invade during a “60 Minutes” interview on Sept. 18.
The instance was just one of several times Biden made such an assurance, though the White House has repeatedly walked back those promises, asserting that “U.S. policy has not changed” on the matter, and that, officially, the United States would not say whether it would defend Taiwan militarily or not.
Taiwanese Skeptism
Given Washington’s decision not to send troops to Ukraine, some Taiwanese citizens told Fox News that they were skeptical they would receive such support in the event of an attack.
McCaul, however, stressed that the two situations were vastly different.
“Taiwan is in a very different position from Ukraine,” he said. “Number one, they’re not battle tested or ready. They are not prepared for war.”
But Ukraine, the congressman noted, has had the support of NATO to bolster its defenses.
“You don’t have NATO in the Pacific,” he said. “That’s why, when looking at Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Australia, we need to start having these discussions as a deterrent for peace. Because if not, we’re going to invite aggression and war.”
McCaul’s Friday remarks follow comments made on Thursday while in a meeting with Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te comparing Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler.
“This struggle for global power, the balance of power that we find ourselves in today, often reminds me of my father’s generation, often referred to as the greatest in the United States,” he said, per NBC News. “Then we had Hitler, and today we have Putin and Chairman Xi.”
Andrew Thornebrooke contributed to this report.
