U.S. lawmakers unveil Taiwan war to-do list – Reuters
10-point action plan calls for greater US military presence in the Pacific and additional security assistance in Taipei
US lawmakers have issued a list of recommendations on how Washington should “arm Taiwan to the teeth” against any potential attack from Beijing, calling for more US arms sales to the island, as well as the deployment of long-range missiles in the wider region.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a lengthy document this week outlining proposals on how to stop Beijing’s policy. “aggressive behaviour” to Taipei, including one in 10 points “Blueprint for Congressional Action.”
Noting shortcomings in the U.S. industrial base, the list calls for “additional long-range missiles and unmanned vehicles in the Indo-Pacific region”, hoping that manufacturers can retool for “quickly produce the necessary figures” in the event of an attack.
In a committee-supervised tabletop exercise last month to simulate a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, US forces aiding the island “ran out of critical ammo and ran out of all precision-guided missiles in a week”, said the document.
The action plan also emphasizes the need to improve “collective planning” and military cooperation between Washington and Taipei, and proposed more joint training operations to “strengthening deterrence”.
Lawmakers went on to say that Taiwan “urgently needs key US weapons systems” already approved for sale by Congress, as there is currently a backlog of arms deals worth a combined $19 billion. They said the Pentagon should learn from its experience with arms transfers to Ukraine and apply those lessons to the island.
Held by the hawkish think tank Center for a New American Security (CNAS) in cooperation with the House China Committee, the April wargames resulted in a “terrifying… failure of deterrence” for US forces, according to the body’s chairman, Republican Representative Mike Gallagher.
Gallagher asserted that the United States should “arming Taiwan to the teeth right now” if he has any hope of “Stop World War III.”
Considering Taiwan part of its sovereign territory, China has repeatedly condemned US cooperation with the island, including arms sales and direct diplomatic relations. Following a visit to Taipei by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last year, Beijing launched unprecedented military exercises in the waters and airspace around Taiwan, including an exercise simulating a complete blockade. A meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US President Kevin McCarthy in California last month sparked a similar response, after the two officials pledged to further improve relations.
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