Ian Patrick, FISM News
While the world watches the situation unfolding at the Russia-Ukraine border, one U.S. representative is warning that America’s adversaries are watching the U.S. response closely.
Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the Chinese Communist Party is keeping a close eye on Eastern Europe. In an interview with Martha Raddatz on ABC News’ “This Week,” McCaul cautioned that Chinese President Xi Jinping “will take Taiwan” if Putin is met with no resistance in Ukraine.
This is why it’s so important, because Xi is watching what is happening, our adversaries are watching. If Putin can go into Ukraine with no resistance, certainly, Xi will take Taiwan. He’s always wanted this, and the South China Sea, you know, as well. Very tactical, the ayatollah … is looking at this, and Kim Jong Un had two rockets fired off this month that were hypersonics.
McCaul’s reference to Jinping taking Taiwan has been a concern of US officials for sometime. In July of last year, when the CCP celebrated 100 years of operation, Jinping gave a “three stage plan to invade Taiwan” according to reporting from FISM News.
Even as recent as January of this year, Taiwan has been reporting incursions in their air space from Chinese air forces. The United States has continued to give support to the island nation as a means of deterring Chinese aggression. China, however, has warned that this support “puts Taiwan into an extremely dangerous situation [and] also exposes the United States to an unbearable price.”
McCaul explained that the disastrous pullout of American troops from Afghanistan, as the nation fell back into the hands of the Taliban, was a significant moment for our adversaries. He said they essentially “saw that as a moment of weakness.”
When asked what would make Putin pull back his troops from the border, McCaul simply said “deterrence.”
The GOP representative also said that he was working with the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee in drafting a bill “that will stand up the deterrence where the administration has failed to provide not only the lethal aid to Ukraine, but also the sanctions necessary, devastating sanctions, including Nord Stream 2.”
Nord Stream 2 is an oil pipeline running from Russia to Germany, which the West fears could exacerbate dependance on Russia. FISM News previously reported that the pipeline was originally under sanctions, but President Joe Biden removed them in May 2021 prompting backlash from both parties. It also highlighted what some referred to as a “double standard,” as Biden nixed the Keystone XL Pipeline from Alaska earlier that same year over environmental concerns.
Watch the interview by clicking on the video below:
LR @RepMcCaul on @ThisWeekABC discussing escalating tensions at the Ukraine border: "The noose is being prepared. It's around Ukraine as we speak. These are dangerous times. Time is of the essence. This would be the largest invasion in Europe since World War II."
WATCH⬇️ pic.twitter.com/e4nNKC6282
— House Foreign Affairs GOP (@HouseForeignGOP) February 6, 2022