I am the only Presidential candidate willing to state what is necessary: we WILL defend Taiwan. The U.S. currently doesn’t even recognize Taiwan as a nation. Democrats and Republicans both unquestioningly endorse the “one China” policy and embrace “strategic ambiguity” toward the island. No other presidential candidate is willing to commit to militarily defending Taiwan, and in December 2016 President Trump was roundly derided for violating diplomatic protocol for the high offense of answering a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan’s president. By contrast, I favor strategic clarity: Defend Taiwan vigorously until the U.S. achieves semiconductor independence, then resume the posture of strategic ambiguity when the stakes are lower for the U.S. The American way of life depends on leading-edge semiconductors manufactured in Taiwan, and we can’t risk China gaining near-total leverage over the entire U.S. economy. By saying that we will defend Taiwan, the U.S. can strongly deter China from blockading or invading the island in the near term. Meantime, Taiwan should more than double its own military expenditures to a more rational level of 4% to 5% of its gross domestic product, the U.S. should rapidly arm and train Taiwan with Anti-Access/Area Denial weapons while running at least one destroyer warship through the Taiwan Strait each week. The U.S. should also fortify its own homeland defense, which is at present dangerously vulnerable to major conflicts with China. This includes improving nuclear, super electromagnetic pulse, cyber and space defense capabilities. That some Republicans describe this position as “isolationist” reminds me of when some progressives used to call my antiwoke views “racist.” Neither makes sense, but once a pejorative becomes a tool to dodge substantive debate, the insult starts to sound more like a compliment. wsj.com/articles/vivek…
@VivekGRamaswamy So you seem reasonable on Ukraine, only to be horrible on China.
@abetterworld98 @VivekGRamaswamy I was gonna say Steve, this totally cancels out his stance on Ukraine lol