The United States is already supporting Taiwan with weapons.
But given the threats from China, that's not enough, explains a prominent US Republican.
Munich/Washington, DC – In the US, Republicans and Democrats may disagree on many issues.
On one issue, however, there is a non-partisan consensus: for a long time, both parties have been engaged in a kind of competition about who can be toughest on China.
One particularly vocal critic of the People's Republic is Republican Mike Gallagher, chairman of a new congressional committee examining the Chinese Communist Party.
On Thursday, Gallagher had a Chinese attack on Taiwan played out in the US Congress.
His conclusion: The USA would have to arm the democratically governed island, which China regards as a renegade province, “to the teeth”.
Beijing has sought "reunification" with Taiwan for decades, even though the island was never part of the People's Republic of China.
According to head of state and party leader Xi Jinping, this should happen as peacefully as possible;
however, Xi does not rule out the use of force.
China's threats to Taiwan have increased since last summer, when Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, visited Taipei in August.
Beijing responded with multi-day military maneuvers around Taiwan.
After a meeting between Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and Pelosi's successor, Kevin McCarthy, in California a few weeks ago, China's People's Liberation Army also tried sealing off the island, among other things.
China and Taiwan: That's what the conflict is about
China and Taiwan: That's what the conflict is about
Threats from China: US supplies anti-ship missiles to Taiwan
The attack scenario, which has now been played out in the US Congress, was supported by the Washington-based think tank Center for a New American Security, as the news agency Reuters writes.
One of the results: Should an armed conflict actually break out between China and Taiwan, it would be impossible to supply the island state with weapons.
Therefore, the government in Taipei must be supported in advance.
While the United States does not officially recognize Taiwan, it committed decades ago to providing the country with defensive weapons.
Just a few days ago it became known that the US wants to sell the Taiwanese up to 400 Harpoon missiles.
Taipei is paying around $1.17 billion for the anti-ship missiles, according to Bloomberg.
US documents, which are part of a data leak that became known a few days ago, recently revealed weaknesses in Taiwan's defense capabilities.
According to the
Washington Post
, the analyzes say that China could quickly gain air superiority over Taiwan in the event of an attack: Taipei has too few aircraft and has difficulties in detecting incoming missiles.
Joe Biden promises support for Taiwan in the conflict with China
Whether and when China will actually attack Taiwan is completely uncertain.
Most intelligence services assume that an invasion is unlikely in the near future.
According to a January simulation by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), China would also lose a "conventional" invasion of Taiwan in the foreseeable future - provided the US and Japan intervened on Taiwan's side, which is currently considered likely.
US President Joe Biden has repeatedly stated that his country will provide military support to Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
In addition to a large-scale invasion, other attack scenarios are also considered possible, such as a Chinese attack on the islands of Matsu and Kinmen, which are controlled by Taiwan but lie just off the Chinese coast.
The emergency was only practiced on Matsu on Thursday: A Chinese attack in the summer of 2025 was simulated as part of an annual civil defense exercise.
"If the situation between Taiwan and China comes to a head, all colleagues on the response team will know what to do," Reuters quoted a local politician as saying.
(sh)