US Senator Dan Sullivan on Thursday called for allies to learn from the US and introduce bills to deter China, as a possible unification of China and Taiwan could result in mass global economic loss.
The world could face up to US$2.5 trillion in economic losses, as per a US Department of State estimate, if China took over Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, which produces about 92 percent of the world’s high-end chips, Sullivan said in a speech at the Washington-based Hudson Institute.
In a speech titled “A Test of Will: Why Taiwan Matters,” Sullivan said that possible global economic impact was the impetus behind his introduction in the US Senate in January last year of the Sanctions Targeting Aggressors of Neighboring Democracies with Taiwan Act, which compels a sitting US president to impose economic and financial sanctions on China within three days of an invasion of Taiwan.
Photo: screen grab from a Hudson Institute livestream
“One of the things that we’ve learned from the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia is that comprehensive economic and financial sanctions have the best chance of deterring a conflict when they’re clearly defined and ready to go before the conflict begins,” Sullivan said.
“I have been working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get this passed,” he added.
While on congressional member delegation visits “around the world, in Germany, at Munich, in Brussels, in London, in [South] Korea, in Japan, I’ve been pitching our allies to do the same,” Sullivan said.
Photo: screen grab from a Hudson Institute livestream
By doing the same, the US’ key allies, which account for up to 70 percent of the world’s GDP, would send a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平): “If you do it, here’s what you’re going to get,” he said.
Sullivan added that similar legislation could have a huge deterrent effect on a potential Chinese military invasion of Taiwan.
Meanwhile, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner on Thursday said that Washington is strengthening its ability to deter China from invading Taiwan before the end of the decade.
“It’s going to be really hard, but I think we’re getting after it with urgency, but also with confidence, that we can do it,” Ratner said during a discussion on Indo-Pacific security hosted by the institute.
The high cost of an invasion of Taiwan would simply dissuade China, he said.
“What we’re doing is reinforcing that deterrence, ensuring that the costs of aggression remain unacceptably high to Beijing,” he said.
China “is the only country with the capability and intent to overthrow the international order,” in a way that “runs directly counter to vital US national interests,” Ratner said.
“We see that manifested in a challenge to the order in the Indo-Pacific, the rules of the road, the institutions, the norms, the efforts to undermine US alliances and partnerships,” he said.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has been “dangerously” intercepting aircraft of the US, its allies and partners as they engage in “lawful activity” in the region’s international airspace, Ratner said.
Ratner said the US is working with its allies and partners to ensure that Beijing’s coercion and aggression do not succeed.
“Deterrence is real, deterrence is strong, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure it stays that way tomorrow and into the future,” he said.
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