The diversion of US military aid to Ukraine has left it incapable of helping Taiwan repel a Chinese invasion, US Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance said in a Webcast interview with YouTuber Shawn Ryan on Thursday.
Vance, who is the running mate of former US president Donald Trump on the Republican ticket, slammed US President Biden’s policy to support Kyiv’s fight against the Russian invasion.
“I think [Washington] has left Taiwan in a really crappy position, because we sent all our weapons to Ukraine,” Vance said.
Photo: Screen grab from Shawn Ryan Show’s YouTube channel
“I do not know that [Taiwan] could repel a Chinese invasion right now, and so do the Chinese,” he added.
Beijing would eventually make a “real military move” on Taiwan “sooner rather than later,” Vance said, adding that China has not yet attacked Taiwan for a range of reasons, including a desire to avoid taking heavy casualties and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) potentially weakened position.
“Even in a relatively weakened position, [invading Taiwan] is not an easy military maneuver, so maybe the Chinese do not want to kill a lot of people, especially their own people, that maybe destabilizes them,” he said.
Xi might not be in as strong a political position as he had been five years ago, but his hand could improve five years from now, Vance said.
That makes a Taiwan conflict before 2027 less likely, Vance added.
In addition, Beijing might believe it does not need to invade Taiwan to take control when subversion from the outside can be sufficient, he said.
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