During a recent discussion on foreign policy at the Munich Security Conference Forum, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) faced a challenging question regarding the United States’ commitment to defending Taiwan against potential Chinese aggression.
The inquiry was posed by Francine Lacqua, a prominent television anchor and Bloomberg Television’s editor-at-large, who asked, “Would and should the U.S. actually commit U.S. troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move?” Ocasio-Cortez was accompanied by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) and U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, during the discussion.
Ocasio-Cortez appeared momentarily hesitant and responded, “Uhm, you know, I think that this is… such a… you know, I think that… this is a uhm… this is of course a uh, a very longstanding policy of the United States.” She further elaborated, “And, I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure we never get to that point.”
She emphasized the importance of preemptive measures, stating, “And, we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation, and for that question to even arise.”
Addressing the same question, Matthew Whitaker noted, “It would be the President’s prerogative as to how to deploy our military,” highlighting that ultimate decisions on military actions rest with the President.
In response to the question, Whitaker stated that it “would be the President’s prerogative as to how to deploy our military.”
“I would just say we have to deter and defend, like we do here on the European continent,” Whitaker added. “And, most importantly — and, I think one of the things that President Trump was able to accomplish by having NATO agree to five percent of GDP on defense and defense-related items, is ultimately, that’s now the international standard.”
– News International Editor Frances Martel reported at the beginning of January that Chinese dictator Xi Jinping stated during a speech that “China’s colonization of Taiwan was ‘unstoppable.’”
While “Taiwan is a sovereign state that has never been governed by a federal entity in Beijing and has no bureaucratic ties to the Communist Party regime there,” China “claims that Taiwan is a ‘province’ of China occupied by a ‘separatist’ group:”
Taiwan is a sovereign state that has never been governed by a federal entity in Beijing and has no bureaucratic ties to the Communist Party regime there. Despite this, China falsely claims that Taiwan is a “province” of China occupied by a “separatist” group, the legitimate and democratic government of Taiwan. The Party regularly threatens to “reunify” Taiwan to itself by force, though it has, at press time, failed to launch a full-scale occupation attempt against the Taiwanese government. American officials, while failing to recognize Taiwan as a country, have routinely allowed weapons sales to Taipei and neighbors such as Japan have recently hinted they would support Taiwan in the event of an invasion, deterring such action.
– News reported that in December, the Trump administration approved “the sale of $11 billion-worth of arms to Taiwan,” which was described as being “one of the largest weapons packages for the island.”
