Taiwan becomes focal point at congressional budget hearings

Taiwan becomes focal point at congressional budget hearings

2023-03-24

A U.S. House committee zeroed in on Taiwan on Thursday at a budget meeting for the 2024 fiscal year. Michael McCaul, chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, raises concerns about Chinese interference in Taiwan’s presidential election. He warned that China would ramp up aggression if it didn’t get its desired election outcome. McCaul said Taiwan was not prepared for conflict, and that the U.S. should help Taiwan bolster its defenses in a bid to prevent war. ##

Michael McCaul
US House Committee on Foreign Affairs
So people ask, “Why is Taiwan important?” Imagine if China invaded Taiwan tomorrow and controlled 90% of the global supply.

At a budget hearing for the fiscal year 2024, the chair of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs underscored China’s threat to Taiwan.

Michael McCaul
US House Committee on Foreign Affairs
I personally think that Chairman Xi is going to try to influence the elections. If he fails then I think Plan B will be a blockade and an invasion that will be on a scale that will make Ukraine look like a very small thing.

He added that Taiwan was not ready for conflict.

Michael McCaul
US House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Taiwan is not prepared. We have no joint military exercises. The weapons I signed off on three years ago have yet to go into the country. We need to arm them and prepare them, to provide deterrence, along with AUKUS and the Quad to deter the Chinese form an invasion.

The U.S. budget for 2023 authorized up to US$2 billion in arms to Taiwan. No such clause was included in this year’s proposal. The omission raised objections from House Committee on Foreign Affairs vice chair Ann Wagner, who questioned the priorities of the Biden administration.

Antony Blinken
US secretary of state
Taiwan is a priority and, as you know, we have many different ways of doing this. At the same time, in the case of Taiwan, the most effective way to date, to make sure that they have what they need to defend themselves has been through the foreign military sales program. They increased their defense budget by 11%.

Speaking at a separate House committee hearing, defense secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. must be prepared for a potential conflict with China.

Lloyd Austin
US secretary of defense
This is a strategy-driven budget and one driven by the seriousness of our strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China.

Mark Milley
US joint chiefs of staff head
Preparation for war, deterring war, is extraordinarily expensive. But it’s not as expensive as fighting a war. And this budget prevents war and prepares us to fight it if necessary.

The Pentagon is requesting US$9.1 billion in support of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a sharp increase from last year’s US$6.1 billion. Officials say the budget will help keep China in check and preserve peace across the strait.