U.S. lawmaker says Taiwan situation is tricky, must find ways to raise the cost of Beijing’s Taiwan violations

The U.S.-Taiwan relationship has been heating up recently, with Beijing intimidating Taiwan by repeatedly sending multiple batches of military aircraft to disturb Taiwan, many of which broke through the strait’s centerline. In the face of such a situation, U.S. Republican Senator Marco Rubio analyzed Wednesday that China will sooner or later use military force against Taiwan if necessary, and that the U.S. should not assist Taiwan in achieving victory in a future full-scale conflict in the Taiwan Strait, but to give Taiwan the ability to raise the cost of Beijing’s violation of Taiwan.

According to the Central News Agency, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio said Wednesday at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., in response to a moderator’s question about whether Taiwan appears to be a flashpoint for conflict in U.S.-China relations, that the situation is indeed tricky, that China’s position within Taiwan has weakened, that the United States has sent two senior officials to Taiwan in the past month and a half, and that China’s more frequent violations of the Taiwan Defense Identification Zone are intended to send a certain message.

According to Rubio, Taiwan will ultimately be a “red line issue” for China, and sooner or later China will use force against Taiwan if necessary. China wants to have politicians inside Taiwan who can manipulate the current system to help them achieve their goals, but as in Hong Kong, they are prepared to send in troops if necessary,” he said, citing the example of Hong Kong.

Rubio believes that the only way to deter China from using force is to ensure that Beijing’s military incursion would be too costly. He argues that what the United States needs to do is not to help Taiwan prevail in a full-scale conflict with the other side of the world, which is impossible, but to give Taiwan the ability to raise the cost of military advances to a level that China is unwilling to bear.

Rubio argues that the United States needs to be careful not to be too provocative, nor so inactive as to be tantamount to “inviting” China to take military action against Taiwan.