U.S. Senator Sullivan said on the 2nd that 90% of the world’s advanced chips are produced in Taiwan. If Taiwan falls and the chips are controlled by enemy countries, the global economy may suffer losses of US$2.5 trillion. He called on all countries to follow the example of the United States and draft sanctions to deter China.
Republican Dan Sullivan (Dan Sullivan) gave a speech at the Hudson Institute (Hudson Institute), a think tank in Washington DC, with the title “A Test of Will: Why Taiwan Matters”. Talk with Maochun Yu, director of the Hudson China Center and former China Policy Advisor of the US State Department.
The 58-year-old Sullivan joined the Marine Corps in 1993. When the Taiwan Strait crisis broke out in 1996, the United States sent two aircraft carriers to the Taiwan Strait. He served on one of them at the time.
Sullivan pointed out that 92% of the world’s most advanced chips come from Taiwan. The shortage of lower-end chips needed for cars during the epidemic alone will cause regarding US$240 billion (regarding NT$7.416 billion) in losses to the US economy; Advanced chips falling into enemy hands might cost the global economy as much as $2.5 trillion, according to estimates by the U.S. State Department.
In addition to the impact on the economic level, Sullivan said that many weapons in the United States rely on advanced chips, including F-35 fighter jets, radar systems and advanced missile defense capabilities.
He said: “Just imagine, if these chips are controlled by the CCP and Chinese President Xi Jinping, what kind of threat and challenge it will pose to the US National Security Council.”
In addition, Sullivan warned that if China succeeds in capturing Taiwan, it will never stop there, and its appetite will only grow, and it may project its military power outward to other regions.
Sullivan proposed the “Sanctions Targeting Aggressors of Neighboring Democracies with Taiwan Act” in January last year. ).
The bill requires the President of the United States to promptly impose sanctions on CCP officials, their relatives, and Chinese state-owned banks within three days once it is determined that the CCP has invaded Taiwan.
Sullivan said that he learned from the Russo-Ukraine war that deterrent measures are the most effective if clear sanctions are prepared before the conflict breaks out; for this reason, he actively promotes the bill and calls on US allies to develop similar measures, such as Germany, Belgium, UK, Korea and Japan.
He said that if the countries collectively accounting for 60% to 70% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) collectively issued a warning to Xi Jinping, telling him “if you do this (violate Taiwan), this is the consequence you will get”, many experts All believe that it can have a strong deterrent effect on China, including those in the intelligence community and himself.
As for what advice he would give Taiwan, Sullivan pointed out that the United States will support its allies, but the people of Taiwan must be determined to fight for their homeland and freedom. He revealed that some U.S. lawmakers are not sure if a conflict in the Taiwan Strait will break out, whether the Taiwanese will be willing to fight hard like Ukraine, or whether the battle will be mainly handed over to the United States like Afghanistan.
The second is to strengthen the acquisition of training and armaments. Sullivan said that when he visited Taiwan many years ago, he found that Taiwan’s military training was “not that impressive” and that Taiwan must also focus more on acquiring asymmetric weapons rather than expensive armaments such as F-35 fighter jets or tanks.
Asked whether the U.S. Congress is willing to recognize Taiwan to prevent China from following Russia’s example and using Taiwan as a non-independent country to invade. Sullivan said that although Russian President Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping were both driven by delusions and historical grievances, and both sides also shouted that there is “no upper limit” for cooperation, he did not think Congress should make a declaration on the Taiwan independence issue.
He said the “Taiwan Relations Act” has helped keep the peace for decades, and the U.S. legislative and executive branches should continue to use it as a policy guideline.
(Author: Xu Weiting; source of first image: shutterstock)
