Republicans Push to Protect Taiwan in Wake of Ukraine Invasion

Republican legislators are pushing President Joe Biden and Congress to ensure that Taiwan is protected from any possible attack from China in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Politico reports.

"President Biden’s refusal to sanction Russia prior to their publicly known invasion of Ukraine, or to have a package of sanctions ready to sign the moment an invasion began, was a grave miscalculation," said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who sits on the Senate Armed Service Committee.

"Biden should learn from this and take appropriate steps to protect Taiwan. The U.S. government should increase sales of military equipment to Taiwan focused on deterring a potential [People’s Republic of China] invasion. It would also be prudent to consider stationing naval assets near the Taiwan Strait," she added. 

Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., tweeted Wednesday that Americans "cannot afford to take our eyes off other dangerous spots around the world … [and] should take immediate steps to deter [Chinese President] Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party from further aggression in Taiwan."

Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul in a statement to Politico said the Biden administration "must show the CCP that we won’t tolerate violence based on their lies, that Taiwan’s security, economy, and democracy are core national security interests for the U.S., and that we are drawing Taiwan more tightly into the family of democracies."

"Our adversaries in both the Putin regime and the CCP are trying to justify their territorial aggression and belligerence through false historical claims," he added. 

Su Tzu-Yun of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taiwan told Politico that "compared to Ukraine, Taiwan is more geo-strategically important because it’s the maritime lifeline of Japan and Korea [with] 90% of Japan's oil and 76% of [Japanese and Korean liquefied natural gas] having to pass through the waters around Taiwan."

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