WASHINGTON — House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Michael McCaul has said the US may send troops to Taiwan should China invade the self-governed island.
“If communist China invaded Taiwan, it would certainly be on the table and something that would be discussed by Congress and with the American people,” the Texas Republican told Fox News.
“Are they prepared to do this? Is Taiwan worth it? I can argue for a lot of reasons why it is.”
The potential move would represent a stark contrast to the the war in Ukraine, where the US has sent billions in weaponry to Kyiv but has refused to send troops.
“[To deploy troops,] you’re talking about an authorized use of military force that would come out of my committee or a declaration of war, which we haven’t utilized since World War II,” McCaul said during a three-day trip to Taipei at the head of a congressional delegation.
Neither Kyiv nor Taipei are formal American allies, but the US has a Taiwan Relations Act meant to “help maintain peace, security and stability in the Western Pacific” by authorizing certain non-official diplomatic activities between the two nations.
Despite the lack of a formal diplomatic relationship, US support for democratic Taiwan has strengthened in the past several years as China has rapidly grown its military and global ambitions.
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province, but the US considers its sovereignty status unsettled.
“Some countries hype up the false narrative of ‘democracy versus autocracy,’ connive at and support ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces in the name of democracy and use the Taiwan question to contain China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press conference Friday, referencing the US. “Such moves are highly dangerous and will get nowhere.”
“The future of Taiwan lies in China’s reunification, and the wellbeing of the people in Taiwan hinges on the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” she added.
But McCaul told Fox News that he thought that “certainly if the American people support [sending troops after an invasion,] the Congress will follow.
US military leaders have said Beijing could invade Taiwan by 2027 – though some, such as Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday, have said an attack could come at any time.
“It’s how the Chinese behave and what they do,” Gilday said in October at an Atlantic Council event.
“So when we talk about the 2027 window, in my mind, that has to be a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window.”
Asked why House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) did not join McCaul on his trip, McCaul demurred, telling Fox News the reason was “sensitive.”
Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a controversial visit to Taiwan in August, which prompted large Chinese military drills in the waters surrounding the island and halted military-to-military communications between the Washington and Beijing.
McCarthy met this week with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Southern California as she made a 10-day tour of the US.
The announcement was unwelcome news for Beijing, whose president, Xi Jinping, has said his top priority is “reunification” with the island.
Mao on Monday criticized the McCarthy-Tsai meeting, saying Beijing “has repeatedly stressed [that] we strongly oppose any form of official interaction and contact between the US side and Taiwan authorities.”
“There is but one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China,” she said April 3.
“Relevant US congressman needs to … refrain from sending wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and avoid undermining the China-US relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
