US House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Sunday called for speedier delivery of weapons to Taiwan, saying that the invasion of Ukraine should serve as a “lesson” to Washington when responding to cross-strait tensions.
In an interview on Fox News Sunday, the top Republican in the US House of Representatives suggested that Russia “probably never would have invaded” had the US supplied arms to Ukraine sooner.
“Ukraine was craving the ability to defend themselves. Had we moved the weapons to Ukraine earlier ... it would have saved thousands of lives,” he said, denying that Russian President Vladimir Putin ever cared about sanctions.
Photo: AP
McCarthy then urged the White House to avoid making the same mistake in the Taiwan Strait.
“What we need to do is learn from here ... but also look to the future of what China is doing,” he said. “Taiwan has been waiting more than a year for weapons they’ve already purchased to defend themselves.”
“Let democracies defend themselves,” he added. “This is a lesson we should learn today.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked international concern that the next conflict might be centered in the Taiwan Strait, especially as China has over the past few years stepped up military harassment of Taiwan.
When a group of six senior US lawmakers met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Friday last week during an unannounced two-day visit, China sent six aircraft to conduct military drills near Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command in a statement said that the exercise was conducted “in response to the recent frequent release of wrong signals by the United States on the Taiwan issue,” without specifically mentioning the US delegation.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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