In an interview with U.S. media on Friday (April 16), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke about President Biden’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga at the White House that day. He also stressed the importance of deterring the Chinese Communist Party, while urging the Biden administration to demonstrate its determination to resist the Communist Party, which is otherwise more likely to act and endanger the safety of Taiwanese.
In an interview on Fox Business News’ “Mornings with Maria” on Friday, Pompeo addressed the Taiwan issue, saying he only needs to listen to Xi Jinping’s speeches against Taiwan to know that he wants to incorporate Taiwan into mainland China and move forward with a timetable. “We should all take seriously the risk of a Chinese Communist military attack (on Taiwan). We need to be prepared for that.”
He said there are multiple ways for the U.S. government to respond, one of which is to work with allies, and “I’m pleased that President Biden and Prime Minister Kan had a meeting.”
Pompeo said Kan is a good man and dedicated to his job. Taiwan is important to Japan, and because of its geographic location, actions by the Chinese Communist Party to commit Taiwan would also pose a great risk to the Japanese people, so we can build alliances, we can support Taiwan and provide it with defensive weapons systems, all of these measures can deter the Chinese Communist Party. But if the United States does not show resolve, the CCP is more likely to act and put the people of Taiwan at risk.
Speaking about the U.S.-Japan summit, Pompeo said there are many things Biden could do, and that the U.S. and allies should talk about the CCP threat publicly, not privately, should talk about the threat, and should let the world know what the CCP is after.
Pompeo also said Biden has “ample opportunity” to make clear to the Chinese Communist Party that the U.S. needs fair and reciprocal trade, in addition to the political risks of U.S. companies investing in China.
Pompeo said he hopes the economic relationship between the United States and Japan will continue to grow. Today, he said, Japan is dependent on China for many of its exports. We need to make sure there are other outlets for Japanese products. Frankly, that’s why The Quad is so important. The alliance includes India, Australia, Japan and the United States.
Pompeo said the Quad, when combined with several other large economies in the Indo-Pacific region, has “ample opportunity” to show the Chinese Communist Party that we need fair, reciprocal trade and that we will not “kowtow” to them just because they will buy some of our smaller items. We’re not going to “kowtow” to them just because the Communist Party will buy some of our small items.
Pompeo also said that Chinese companies have enjoyed preferential treatment in U.S. capital markets for years, and that U.S. companies investing in China need to be aware of the political risks attached. (Because) they’re American companies, they’re talking about social justice. And when you talk about social justice, you have to care about everybody. And the genocide that’s happening in western China today can be compared to what happened in the world in the 1930s (with the Nazi Holocaust). Every company needs to take this issue seriously.
Biden and Kan issued a joint statement after their meeting Friday. In particular, the two sides referred to an “agreed understanding of the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the first time since 1969 that U.S. and Japanese leaders have mentioned Taiwan in a joint statement.
Biden also told Kan that Japan enjoys the “ironclad support” of the United States on security and other issues.
Biden said, “We are committed to working together to address the challenges from China (Communist Party of China), the East and South China Seas and North Korea to ensure a free and open future for the Indo-Pacific region.”
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