A veteran US senator who visited Taiwan last month has issued a warning to the US and the world about the consequences they would face if China annexed Taiwan.
“A conquered Taiwan would mean widespread loss of life and liberty for its people. It would also plunge the world into an economic depression and disintegrate the Pacific defenses protecting America from China’s military,” US Senator Roger Wicker said on Friday in a weekly report posted on his Web site.
In the report, he detailed why Taiwan matters to the US and the world, including Taipei being Washington’s seventh-biggest trading partner and producing most of the world’s semiconductors, making the nation a linchpin of the world’s economy.
Photo: Screen grab from the Presidential Office’s Flickr page
ECONOMIC RISKS
“If China seized those semiconductor factories, [Chinese President] Xi Jinping [習近平] could hold the global economy hostage,” he wrote.
Xi’s invasion would also threaten nearby nations, including Japan and South Korea, the US’ fifth and sixth-biggest trading partners respectively, he said.
“Sixty percent of the world’s population lives in the Pacific region. Control of the area by the Chinese communists would imperil our ability to do business with that growing marketplace,” he added.
Regarding his visit to Taiwan on Aug. 29 and 30, Wicker said he was here in his capacity as chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee to underscore Taiwan’s strategic role in the US’ national defense.
Before arriving in Taiwan, Wicker said he had visited several US bases around the Pacific, where he said the US’ “network of bases” has made it difficult for the country’s enemies to reach the western US mainland and created “security assurances” for these host nations.
SECURITY THREATS
“If China were to attack Taiwan and the United States failed to defend the island, those nations would likely feel less eager to house American military assets. Ultimately, our forces might have to retreat as far east as Hawaii or Guam, making our homeland more vulnerable,” he said.
“A free Taiwan helps reassure the free nations of the Pacific and helps support American defense forces stationed there,” he added.
Wicker said he and other members of the US Congress would continue to uphold the Taiwan Relations Act, including the section which obliges Washington to help Taiwan obtain the defensive materials it needs to remain secure.
“I believe we should continue that legacy,” he said.
Wicker visited Taiwan, together with fellow US Senator Deb Fischer, as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region.
During their visit, the delegation met with President William Lai (賴清德), Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and other officials, to underscore Washington’s commitment to its partnership with Taiwan, the American Institute in Taiwan said in a news release.
Last month’s visit was Wicker’s first trip to Taiwan as chairman of the committee. The trip was also the first by a US Senate Armed Services Committee chairman since 2016.
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