Republican US presidential hopeful Marco Rubio said that, if elected, he would defend Taiwan should the nation be invaded by China.
“If they were to invade Taiwan, or if they were to go aggressively after Japan, we have agreements, defense agreements, with these countries,” he told Fox TV News.
“And we would come to their assistance as required,” Rubio said.
A US senator from Florida, Rubio is considered to be one of the front-running mainstream candidates for the Republican nomination.
Interviewer Neil Cavuto said that China was now landing passenger planes on islands it had artificially built in the South China Sea and asked Rubio what he would do to stop it.
“Those are not neutral waters,” Rubio said.
“Those are actually the territorial waters of other countries. And they are being impeded upon by China. And that needs to be challenged,” he added. “What they’re hoping is that we’ll just accept it... If they can just start using these islands, everyone will say, well, what can we do about it?”
Rubio said this was why it was so important to rebuild the US Navy.
Pressed as to what he would actually do about the South China Sea if he was in the White House, Rubio said: “I would sail right through those waters. I would put the US Navy in place, and repeatedly sail right through those waters and repeatedly challenge both the air rights that they’re claiming and the sea lanes that they’re claiming.”
He said that as part of rebuilding the US military alliance in the region, he would develop capacity to work with Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.
“I think we need to reinvigorate our Pacific military alliance and that begins with the United States investing the resources necessary to rebuild our navy,” Rubio said.
Cavuto asked if China landed a military jet on one of the disputed islands in the South China Sea, would a President Rubio see that as an act of war?
It was at this point that the senator said that he would come to the assistance of Taiwan if it was invaded by China.
He said the US should not accept China building artificial islands.
“We should reject their sovereignty claims over these areas, and we should continue to fly our airplanes over and sail our ships through them,” he said.
“What we should not allow is for China to get away with what they’re trying to do,” he added.
Rubio said that Russia under President Vladimir Putin had taken over Crimea and that everyone now accepted that Crimea was owned by Moscow and that there was no way to change it.
“We will never accept that in the Asia Pacific region when I’m president,” he said.
“We have to have a navy with the capability — not just technological capability, but enough ships and airplanes to continue to challenge China’s claims and to live up to our defense agreements in the region,” Rubio said.
A series of discussions on the legacy of martial law and authoritarianism are to be held at the Taipei International Book Exhibition this month, featuring findings and analysis by the Transitional Justice Commission. The commission and publisher Book Republic organized the series, entitled “Escaping the Nation’s Labyrinth of Memory: What Authoritarian Symbols and Records Can Tell Us,” to help people navigate narratives through textual analysis and comparisons with other nations. The four-day series is to begin on Thursday next week with a discussion between commission Chairwoman Yang Tsui (楊翠), Polish-language translator Lin Wei-yun (林蔚昀), and Polish author and artist Pawel Gorecki comparing
‘EFFECTIVE DETERRENCE’: If the Biden administration suspends arms sales to Taiwan, the military could still ready a nimble fighting force for defense, an analyst said The “US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific” last week sparked debate among analysts after US President Donald Trump declassified the document 20 years ahead of schedule. Trump on Tuesday last week released the document that had governed US strategic action in the region since the US leader approved its use in 2018. The document, which outlines US priorities in the region, emphasizes the importance of defending Taiwan against military aggression and facilitating the country’s development of asymmetric strategies and capabilities. The overall directive of the document is for the US to prevent China from establishing sustained air and sea dominance inside the first
MOVING OUT: A former professor said that rent and early education costs in Taipei are the nation’s highest, which makes it difficult for young people to start families The population of Taipei last year fell to the lowest in 23 years due to high rent, more transportation options and the expansion of northern cities into a single metropolis, academics and city officials said on Monday. Data released this month by the Ministry of the Interior showed that the capital was home to 2,602,418 people last year, down 42,623 from 2019. The decline is second only to 1993, when the population fell by 42,828 people, while Taipei’s population was the lowest it has been since 1997. Taipei saw the biggest drop among the six special municipalities, while Taoyuan led the group in
A legislator yesterday called for authorities to investigate the sale of Chinese-made, Internet-connected karaoke machines containing “propaganda songs.” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said she was approached by a person who had discovered Chinese patriotic songs such as My Motherland (我的祖國) — which is commonly referred to as China’s “second national anthem” — in Chinese-made karaoke devices sold in Taiwan. The machines are popular, as they can connect to the Internet, providing access to thousands of songs, she said. One retailer, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the machines first entered the local market about three years ago, starting with
RSS