Over the weekend, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said that the independent country of Taiwan is “not where they need to be” in regards to military capabilities to deter an invasion from China.
McCaul made his remarks during a Saturday interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press” with host Chuck Todd.
“You’ve got a first-hand look. How would you assess [Taiwan’s] defensive capabilities right now?” Todd asked.
“They’re not where they need to be. If we’re going to have deterrence for peace, we need to get these weapons into Taiwan,” McCaul said. “I sign off on all foreign military weapon sales. Twenty-two weapon systems over three years ago that have yet to get into Taiwan, onto the island. That will provide deterrence to Chairman Xi to think twice, you know, about an invasion.”
“And secondly is the combat training that is occurring on the island. We need to ramp that up to a larger scale so they can provide that projection of strength and deterrence. They’re not where they need to be right now,” McCaul added.
“I’ve talked to the prime ministers and the presidents of Japan, you know, South Korea, and Taiwan, what’s happening in Ukraine will determine what happens in Taiwan and the Pacific,” McCaul later said. “I think the prime minister of Japan going down to Ukraine to signal their support – and he said himself, ‘What happens in Ukraine today will happen in the Far East tomorrow.’ I believe the best deterrence to Chairman Xi is a failure for Putin in Ukraine.”
