Washington, Sept 16: Republican Vice-Presidential candidate and Ohio Senator JD Vance said that the diversion of United States military aid to Ukraine has left it incapable of helping Taiwan repel a Chinese invasion, citing “we sent all our weapons to Ukraine.” Vance, who is the running mate of former US president Donald Trump on the Republican ticket, slammed US President Joe Biden’s policy to support Kyiv’s fight against the Russian invasion.
“I think [Washington] has left Taiwan in a really crappy position, because we sent all our weapons to Ukraine,” Vance said in a Webcast interview with YouTuber Shawn Ryan on Thursday.
“I do not know that [Taiwan] could repel a Chinese invasion right now, and so do the Chinese,” he added. Beijing would eventually make a “real military move” on Taiwan “sooner rather than later,” Vance said, adding that China has not yet attacked Taiwan for a range of reasons, including a desire to avoid taking heavy casualties and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s potentially weakened position.
“Even in a relatively weakened position, [invading Taiwan] is not an easy military manoeuvre, so maybe the Chinese do not want to kill a lot of people, especially their own people, that maybe destabilizes them,” he said.
Xi might not be in as strong a political position as he had been five years ago, but his hand could improve five years from now, Vance said. That makes a Taiwan conflict before 2027 less likely, Vance added.
In addition, Beijing might believe it does not need to invade Taiwan to take control when subversion from the outside can be sufficient, he said. Meanwhile, Taiwan continues to report increased Chinese military activity in its territory.
Earlier in the day, Taiwan detected seven Chinese aircraft, six naval vessels and one official ship operating around its territory from 6 am (local time) on Saturday to 6am (local time) on Sunday.
Taiwan has been governed independently since 1949. However, China considers Taiwan part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary.
Earlier in July, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te accused the Chinese government of misinterpreting a United Nations resolution to justify its military activities against Taiwan and drawing an inappropriate linkage to its “One China” principle, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
Beijing claims that the UN resolution confirmed its one-China principle, which implies that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China.