The United States must show "real action" to deter China from aggression against Taiwan, including offering the smaller nation both a mutual defense agreement and a trade agreement, China expert Gordon Chang told Newsmax Monday.
"I think it's good that there were words from the State Department on Sunday, a rock-solid commitment as you said that we are 'very concerned,' but we're past the point of just words," Chang told Newsmax's "Wake Up America."
"We need to show real actions to deter China because we know that deterrence is breaking down. We heard that in the middle of March from China's top two diplomats in Anchorage. We've heard it ever since, especially after the fall of Kabul."
Since Friday, China's national day, the nation has sent almost 150 aircraft into Taiwan's defense zone, including 52 on Monday alone.
The State Department has issued a statement saying that the United States is "very concerned" about China's "provocative military action near Taiwan," as that "undermines regional peace and stability."
The department also urged Beijing to cease its "military, diplomatic and economic pressure and coercion against Taiwan."
But Chang said that statement is "absolutely" not enough.
"It's one of those things that is necessary for the State Department to say, but Beijing looks at that and says, 'well, what is the U.S. going to do about it?'" said Chang.
In addition to reaching trade and defense agreements with Taiwan, the United States must have port calls by its destroyers in Taiwan, and it must show China that it can't launch an invasion, he continued.
"We're not deterring China, as we can see from these large incursions in Taiwan's air defense identification zone," said Chang.
He said the first thing he would do, as president, is to address the situation from the White House and make it very clear that the United States will defend China, as the policy of strategic ambiguity, which has been in place for decades, is not working now.
"We need to be clear about our commitments," Chang said. "Once we do that, and we sort of document these with agreements like the trade agreement, with the mutual defense treaty with all the types of agreements we have with other countries, then I think Taiwan will be safe."
Taiwan, he added, is "absolutely critical to the defense of the United States," especially after the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan.
"Countries around the world are looking to see whether the U. S will actually stand up to China," said Chang, adding that President Joe Biden had said he'd stand up to China but "we haven't seen very much evidence of that, especially after the fall of Kabul."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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