Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping should postpone any invasion of Taiwan until after the United States achieves “semiconductor independence” by 2028, according to Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
“I’m being very clear: Xi Jinping should not mess with Taiwan until we have achieved semiconductor independence, until the end of my first term when I will lead us there,” Ramaswamy said Monday. "And after that, our commitments to Taiwan, our commitments to be willing to go to military conflict, will change after that, because that’s rationally in our self-interest.”
UP FOR DEBATE: WHERE TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND REST OF REPUBLICAN 2024 FIELD STAND ON KEY ISSUES
Ramaswamy floated that plan to persuade Xi to delay a Taiwan crisis during an extended interview with conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt. But he ended the interview 15 minutes earlier than Hewitt had scheduled after the host pressed him to clarify whether he would draw a short-term “red line” around Taiwan.
“I’m not committing to that,” Ramaswamy replied. "What I’m saying is that we will deter until we have achieved semiconductor independence.”
The interview represented a foreign policy proving ground for Ramaswamy, a 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur who has emerged as one of the early surprises of the 2024 Republican presidential primary contest. Hewitt, who opened the interview by expressing his pleasure at the opportunity to “go into great depth here” without any need “to rush” the conversation, pressed the upstart candidate on his plan to force Ukraine to make concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin in exchange for a Kremlin break with China.
“That’s how I plan to end the Ukraine war — do a deal that yes, does give Putin concessions, but in return for requiring Vladimir Putin to exit his military partnership with China,” Ramaswamy said. “With respect to Ukraine in particular, I think that we are actually driving Russia further into China’s arms ... I’m disappointed, I have to say, that nobody in either major party is really talking about it.”
That’s a fresh sensation for the third-place candidate in the RealClearPolitics polling average of the national Republican presidential primary electorate.
“Let’s just call a spade a spade: I didn’t know much of this six months ago,” he appeared to say of foreign policy in general. “But the only difference between me and the other candidates is I’m the only one actually willing to admit that. I think many of them still don’t know it now.”
Ramaswamy began to move to wrap up the interview after Hewitt mentioned they had scheduled an hour together. “I thought we were going for half an hour. So we’re actually well over my time here,” he said. “But I would like to continue this.”
So Hewitt pressed him about whether he would really be willing to “fire the first shot” if Xi forged ahead with an invasion of Taiwan before 2028. Ramaswamy demurred, maintaining that a combination of diplomatic and defense maneuvers, including “pull[ing] Russia out of the military alliance with China,” moving U.S. submarines to the Indo-Pacific, and monthly or weekly transits of the Taiwan Strait by U.S. destroyers, would ensure that China would never call the question.
“That will collectively send enough of a signal, combined with my strategic clarity, that the date we take seriously is 2028, the end of my first term when I will lead us to semiconductor independence,” he said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Hewitt tried to shift the conversation to a discussion of Israel and Iran in what he thought would be the final 15 minutes of the interview, but Ramaswamy said their conversation already had run too long.
“I was scheduled for 30 minutes, and we’ve gone for 45,” Ramaswamy said. “I love this, but we’re going to have to continue this, Hugh, at a different date. But I really appreciated the opportunity.”