Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, told Newsmax that the United States must "continue to show our commitment" to Taiwan amid fears of an imminent Chinese invasion.
During a Thursday interview on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren," Sullivan advocated for Congress to pass his STAND with Taiwan Act of 2022, which would sanction China if it invades the island nation.
"It looks at deterrence — not just from a military perspective, which is very important — but importantly, Greta, economic deterrence," Sullivan said of the legislation. "My bill would say: If the Chinese Communist Party invades Taiwan, there would be massive economic and financial and energy sanctions.
"I was trying to push my bill in the Senate Armed Services Committee just today, given the urgency of this issue," he added.
Sullivan introduced the Sanctions Targeting Aggressors of Neighboring Democracies (STAND) with Taiwan bill in January along with companion legislation from Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., in the House.
According to a press release from Sullivan at the time, the slate of sanctions that would take effect in the event of a Chinese invasion includes the "targeting of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members and Chinese financial institutions and industrial sectors."
The Alaskan senator's bill also prohibits U.S.-based "investment companies, private equity firms, venture capital firms, or hedge funds" from investing in a Chinese-associated entity and "the importation of certain goods mined, produced, or manufactured" in China.
"The Chinese Communist Party knows exactly what it wants to accomplish," Sullivan laid out in a Jan. 20 floor speech. It's "to make the world safe for its authoritarian government, to export its dictatorship model to other countries, to separate America from its democratic allies, and to erode U. S. leadership around the world."
"That is why Taiwan is so central to the free world and its future," he continued. "It is a thriving, prosperous Chinese democracy that holds free elections and bounds its power by the rule of law."
The push from Sullivan and several other senators comes after Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, threatened Taiwan with an "accelerated demise" after a Taiwanese official floated the idea of launching missiles at Beijing if China were to invade, the New York Post reported.
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