Congressman urges US support for Taiwan in potential conflict with China

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) on Sunday warned that China is employing all forms of warfare to take over Taiwan and emphasized the need for the U.S. to offer support to the island.

He made his remarks following French President Macron's visit to Beijing and China's ongoing war games simulating a blockade of Taiwan.

During an interview on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, expressed concerns about China's intimidation tactics against the U.S., as evidenced by their military exercises near Taiwan.

He explained that China's leader, Xi Jinping, is attempting to achieve "reunification" with Taiwan through psychological, economic, and political warfare, a strategy referred to as "cognitive warfare" by Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen.

“Xi Jinping would love to achieve that reunification without force if possible,” Gallagher stated. “And the way to do that is through psychological warfare. It’s through economic coercion. It’s through political warfare. And that’s really what President Tsai of Taiwan has been warning us about.”

“It’s what she calls cognitive warfare. So it’s important for the American people not to be intimidated,” he added. “And the fact that the Chinese were throwing a temper tantrum about the speaker of the House meeting with the democratically elected leader of Taiwan on American soil just shows you how sensitive they are.”

Gallagher urged the American people not to be intimidated by China's aggressive tactics and stressed the importance of supporting Taiwan. As a U.S. military veteran, he believes the U.S. should provide Taiwan with weapons and prioritize surging power to the Indo-Pacific region to prevent potential conflict.

The congressman identified Harpoon anti-ship missiles as the most crucial weapon to supply Taiwan with and proposed moving Taiwan to the front of the line for Harpoon deliveries. Additionally, he suggested licensing specific weapons systems for Taiwan to produce domestically.

Gallagher called on the executive branch, particularly the secretary of defense, to make this issue a daily priority and clear the backlog, emphasizing the urgency of supporting Taiwan in the face of China's ongoing efforts to take over the island.