Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Thursday called for a new US policy on what would happen in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Currently, the US arms Taiwan through weapons sales and maintains a policy known as “strategic ambiguity,” which means the US is not guaranteed to intervene if Beijing moves to take the island.
Cotton said he wants to make it “crystal clear” that a Chinese incursion on Taiwan means war with the US. “The United States needs to be clear that we will not allow China to invade Taiwan and subjugate it. Case closed. No further debate,” he said at a Reagan Institute event.
“Replace strategic ambiguity with strategic clarity that the United States will come to the aid of Taiwan if China was to forcefully invade Taiwan or otherwise change the status quo across the [Taiwan] Strait,” Cotton added.
The hawkish senator said the US should establish “red lines” for China that would “require a response” from Washington. Examples of Cotton’s red lines include China seizing Taiwanese-claimed islands, a Chinese invasion of a regional ally like India, or if Beijing permits an attack on US troops or allies by North Korea.
Cotton made the comments while he presented his plan to take on Beijing economically. In the plan, Cotton called for an economic decoupling from China. “Our economy has become far too entangled with China’s, providing the Chinese Communist Party with leverage over the US government and industry. It’s past time we decoupled from China,” he said.
Cotton’s report came after the US Chamber of Commerce released a study that said the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would see a one-time loss of as much as $500 billion if US companies halved foreign direct investment in China. Besides the hit to the US’s GDP, decoupling with China would give Washington and Beijing less reason not to go to war if a naval incident happens in the South China Sea, where the US has stepped up its military presence and frequently sails warships.
Cotton,,wake up boi, China has no fear of the USA.
I think it does fear the USA, the Chinese leadership is very careful. But US aggression won’t keep them deterred for long, it’ll just create more conflict.
COB, Take a real good look at the state of the USA today,,China is like the hawk perched in a tree staring down at a mouse that thinks it is a wolverine. The only wildcard left is for whoever operates the famed “Nimitz TicTacs”.
Oh the sheer satire from the likes of Tom Cotton and his ilk. So brave, and completely/utterly delusional. China would crush any US military incursion in their backyard..period. The US does not win war’s, nor does it have the fortitude and smarts to take on China. China will take Taiwan if it chooses that path. The only reason it would..would be US meddling where it has never belonged.
Sad. You would watch a dictatorship invade a democracy and applaud wouldn’t you. Nothing emboldens the XI dictatorship more than spineless Americans
Go sign up, Rambo.. and sign up your children and grandchildren.
What democracy do you anticipating us invading? Do you think Comrade Biden will be that ballsy? Or I should say Comrade Harris, since Biden is merely a dementia-stricken sock puppet.
And I’m on the same page as Vic below. Spineless Americans like you – sending other people’s children off to die for your corporate profits?
Stephan, IMHO we already live under a dictatorship, USA people, majority of them, don’t care. 🙂
China has brought millions of its people out of poverty, while our government is decimating the working-class, gutting the poor, and denying healthcare that every other Western country provides their populations. The US is broken, and beyond any redemption at this point. At least China actually cares about its people.
US per capita income: $51k
China per capita income: $10k
And yet, somehow that Chinese per capita income is enough to have healthcare and higher education for the whole family, houses and cars all paid for with plenty left over since the Chinese have some of the highest savings rates in the whole world. Can’t say that for someone earning $51k in America. Not even close.
“And yet, somehow in my imagination, that Chinese per capita income is enough to have healthcare and higher education for the whole family, houses and cars all paid for with plenty left over.”
Fixed, no charge.
In China, it’s a very different situation. Student debt is virtually non-existent. According to Tuition.io, the average cost of tuition a year in China is $2,200 compared to $8,240 for public and $28,500 for private schools in the U.S. Even with a modest graduate salary, there isn’t really a need for taking a loan.- Forbes
In fact, 90% of families in the country own their home, giving China one of the highest home ownership rates in the world. What’s more is that 80% of these homes are owned outright, without mortgages or any other leans. -Forbes
The People’s Republic of China has the largest fleet of motor vehicles in the world, with 372 million motor vehicles in January 2021 including 281 million cars, and in 2009 became the world’s largest new car market as well.
China (44.9%) The Chinese savings rate of 44.9% remains high by global standards, and it was a significant factor in China’s economic growth. In purchasing power parity terms, China’s average income came close to $17,000 per year in 2019.-Investopedia
So, they have healthcare and higher education paid for. They own cars and homes all on such reportedly low incomes and still have high savings rates.
What exactly was I imagining?
The US government is a broken self important behmoth unable to compete with China, so like a spoiled brat it is attempting to stop China’s growth, and possibly cause a world war. China will never roll over for Uncle Sam since it knows it has the upper hand now.
When was the last time the US government attempted to stop poverty in America maybe during Roosevelts tenure as president, but he had no real choice since America was coming out of the depression. That 51K is more like 10K now due to covid, and our inept and corrupt government showing all of Us that only the 1% and corporate class matter.
The US government has been attempting to “stop poverty” for 90 years now. If it ever succeeds, it will be the first government in history to do so.
There isn’t much poverty in America, there just to many lazy slackers who get just enough welfare to survive and bitch.
Interesting, at $7.25 minimum hourly wage in the US, makes it $15,080 per year, in China that’s middle class. Also just heard, if you live in America most people will get that socialistic $1400.00 soon, its good to live in America, I can see why you don’t want to leave.
I don’t think China would do any crushing – both sides would lose ships, but an invasion of an island is extremely difficult to pull off in military terms, so any Chinese effort to reclaim Taiwan by force would fail.
COB, hypersonic rockets will take out our carrier groups quickly and then Guam, it will end there unless the USA is foolish enough to continue, if we are,, N. Korea invades the South and Japan, and Iran and Russia get’s in the fight, NATO will not come to our aid, using the reason that we were the aggressor. China will then rule the world and blood will run in the streets of the USA as animosity’s, fomented by the 2 political parties, erupt into genocidal blood lust. 🙁
How’re you assuming the conflict starts? If it is based on China trying to retake Taiwan, that is extremely difficult. The USA needs to keep its large ships well out of range of China’s missiles, but America also has large numbers of missiles on its small ships and on Taiwan itself, enough to sink any likely invasion fleet.
China would want to minimise attacks on American forces to prevent an escalation into a nuclear conflict. They would probably seek not to invade Taiwan, but instead to blockade the island as punishment for an independance vote perhaps. That itself might lead to a serious shoot out.
The Chinese have no fear of causing American casualties as shown in the Korean war. Plus, Iran proved last year an advanced military can destroy US military bases with no retaliation at all. The US cannot even defeat ragtag militias in Afghanistan. So no, there is nothing to fear from the US.
China has been massively building their military and navy in particular in order to take on a military superpower like the US. There are only a couple good reasons for this and reuniting Taiwan is one of them. Jace McAdams is correct. China would absolutely crush the US military right off their coast and the few US troops in Taiwan would offer no resistance at all. I would actually love to see a couple US aircraft carrier strike groups hit the ocean floor in the Taiwan strait. China has already threatened to do exactly that.
The US would never be so foolish as to position their carrier group in the Strait itself in a fight. The carrier group would be 900 miles east of Taiwan, the aircraft would fly to the island and fire their missiles at attackers. 900 miles of sea would give the US war fleet a decent chance of intercepting incoming missiles and drones. Taiwan is covered in radar, surface to air missiles, and surface to surface missiles. Chinese marines who made it across to Taiwan would face wave after wave of artillery barrages, along with anti tank rockets and heavy machine gun fire from very well dug in Taiwanese defenders.
I don’t say this as a pro-US argument. I’m just trying to think realistically. Attacking is harder than defending. China could potentially blockade Taiwan. They have no realistic chance of invading such a well prepared island.
Hypersonic missiles can not be intercepted. Aircraft carriers today are sitting ducks. It is thought that China (and Russia) possess under water missiles that cannnot be intercepted either because of their hypersonic speeds. I don’t think the US will intervene. It will turn out to be too costly.
Maybe you’re right, if China can shower the US fleet with accurate hypersonic anti ship missiles from a distance of 1000 miles, America would be deterred. But the news reports may be exaggerated. If the US government thinks they can beat China with minimal losses, they will fight.
The Chinese could sink those carriers 900 miles from their coast. No problem.
” China’s df-21d, an anti-ship ballistic missile that can travel over 1,500km (950 miles),”
900 miles of Taiwan’s coast is 1000 miles off the Chinese mainland.
I agree, China will still have ways of attacking them. But the balance of power will likely be with the USA in terms of weight of firepower, and landing on an island by sea is very, very tricky.
Uniting Taiwan, maybe. You can’t reunite that which you’ve never previously been united with.
The UN and most countries in the world do not consider Taiwan a separate country.
Even the government of Taiwan considers itself a part of China.
“Both sides of the Taiwan Strait agree that there is only one China. However, the two sides of the Strait have different opinions as to the meaning of ‘one China.’ To Peking, ‘one China’ means the ‘People’s Republic of China (PRC),’ with Taiwan to become a ‘Special Administration Region’ after unification. Taipei, on the other hand, considers ‘one China’ to mean the Republic of China (ROC), founded in 1911 and with de jure sovereignty over all of China. The ROC, however, currently has jurisdiction only over Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. Taiwan is part of China, and the Chinese mainland is part of China as well.”
So, as usual, Americans claiming Taiwan is, and always has been, a sovereign country do not know what they are talking about.
There is always another McCain in waiting.
Ready to sing.
none … of … our … business.
True, but that’s never stopped the empire before
The world will probably just watch helplessly as China invades, slaughters and subjugated free Taiwanese under China’s anti-human rights dictatorship. No more heroes, no more democracy. Half of Americans look like they want dictatorship. They are tired of free speech and due process. Much better to have a government that watches everything you say on social media and destroys your life without even giving you a trial if you say the wrong thing. Home of the brave? No longer. Land of the Free? The people want safe little cages, not freedom!
Unlikely, the empire loves getting America into conflicts that are none of her concern.
Stephan,,you are so correct!!! 🙂
What does “freedom” have to do with sticking our nose into China’s internal business? Or are you saying you think potential nuclear annihilation is an acceptable price for us having a say how China is governed?
So dumping on Americans should be accompanied by losing a war with China?
Then it is a good thing Tom Cotton is not President, is not listened to by the President, does not even talk to the President, and has nearly no influence at all on what the US actually does.
For now. He has presidential aspirations. And judging from what we’ve elected over the course of my lifetime, I wouldn’t rule him out.
Such a policy by the US would in effect recognize the independence of Taiwan, and put it in a category like Cotton’s India and North Korea, thus making it a United Nations matter instead of an internal China matter like Hong Kong. This would be a major change in US policy at odds with all the other nations in the world which do not recognize Taiwan, at a time when the new US president is promoting international alliances not illegal unilateral military actions.
I think we are confused, China doesn’t go around invading people’s,that’s what we do, and by the way Taiwan is part of China and the way we have been behaving, China has no other choice but to defend itself.
Taiwan has never been part of the People’s Republic of China. Nor is it magically, specially part of some notional spiritual entity called “China.” It has, at some points since the 16th century, until as late as 1895, it has been partly ruled by mainland Chinese regimes. At other times, it’s been ruled by the Dutch and the Japanese, but it’s not “Holland” or “Japan” either.
Whether the people of Taiwan want to be ruled from Beijing should be the people of Taiwan’s decision. Not the Communist Party of China’s decision, and not the Biden administration’s decision.
Quote from the Taiwan government- “Taiwan is part of China, and the Chinese mainland is part of China as well.”
This is covered in my reply to you previously.
And?
Everyone should know. When articles are posted about Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong and other China centric postings a huge influx of the Chinese PLA 50- cent crew appears to dominate and provide misinformation to the subject. Many of them are university students actually studying in the USA that are required to post certain responses in favor of the CCP stance. Keep this in mind when reading their post. Never allow the CCP to gain control in America. The CCP is a Fascist based organization of oligarchs that are made wealthy from polluting the planet, war, drug trafficking, human slavery, misery, and almost every evil imaginable that earns a buck. Never forget that fact.