Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul says that if China were to attack Taiwan a war authorization would be “on the table.”
McCaul made the comments during an interview with Fox News on Friday, as he led a delegation of lawmakers visiting Taiwan from April 6th to April 8th. McCaul said such an authorization would come out of his committee and even raised the possibility of passing a declaration of war, something the U.S. Congress has not done since WWII.
McCaul said that in a Taiwan contingency, his committee would take up the issue with the American people, who would have to decide if war in Taiwan was “worth it.” He added that he could argue a few reasons why it would be.
In a separate interview with NBC News on Sunday, McCaul was asked to make the case for U.S. intervention in Taiwan. He said one reason is that 50% of all trade travels through international straits, and a communist controlled Taiwan could threaten trade routes. He added that if the U.S. were to lose its access to the semiconductors manufactured in Taiwan, it would be in “a world of hurt.”