U.S. Rep. Gallagher: Visits to Taiwan are important, but action is better

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) today released the following statement in advance of Speaker Pelosi’s scheduled trip to Taiwan.

“In a readout of Xi Jinping’s call with President Biden, the Chinese Communist Party warned, ‘Those who play with fire will perish by it.’ Already, CCP propagandists have gone into overdrive calling for a military response if Speaker Pelosi visits Taiwan. It goes without saying that the Speaker’s trip should continue as planned. But even more than high-level visits, what Taiwan needs is decisive action to improve the conventional military balance in the Indo-Pacific. This starts with defense assistance for Taiwan. Congress must provide meaningful assistance to help Taiwan acquire critical asymmetric military capabilities, whether in the form of my Arm Taiwan Act or through Foreign Military Financing. Second, Congress should establish the Seize the Initiative Fund included in the House NDAA to provide Indo-Pacific Command with $1 billion to enhance posture, logistics, and infrastructure west of the International Date Line. Finally, Congress must act now to ensure that if the worst happens, both we and the Taiwans are prepared. This means both expanding joint military training and incorporating all elements of national power into Taiwan wargames to stress test not only our military, but our diplomatic, economic, and intelligence response.

“These are not policies that we can improvise on the fly. Ukraine benefitted from close to a decade of American assistance in the aftermath of the 2014 invasion. As we have seen all too well, lives–and Ukraine’s very existence–depended upon it. Visits are important but action is better. We need a sense of urgency for material support for Taiwan before it is too late.”