Graham says he is ‘open’ to sending US forces to Taiwan

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Sunday that he is “open” to sending U.S. troops to Taiwan to defend the island, saying that “strategic ambiguity” is not working.

“Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream asked Graham if the senator would support authorizing U.S. force in Taiwan if tensions rise between the island and China. Graham responded that Congress needs to ask itself whether the U.S. should have a defense agreement with Taiwan.

“So the question for the Congress, should we have a defense agreement with the island of Taiwan? We don’t should we have one?” he said. “But yes, I’d be very much open to using U.S. forces to defend Taiwan, because it’s in our national security interest to do so.”

Graham’s comments come on the heels of top GOP leaders meeting with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen last week. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met with Tsai along with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and described the meeting as providing for “greater peace and stability for the world.”

Graham said that he would support sending aid to Taiwan because it is a “democracy.” He added that he “would increase training and give the F-16s they need” in Taiwan.

“I believe in a One China policy, but I would be willing to fight for Taiwan because Taiwan is a democracy. We stood with them for decades,” he told Bream.

“So I would up our game and if you don’t up your game now you are going to have a war,” he added.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul led a delegation of bipartisan lawmakers to Taiwan last week, and said that he and the delegation spoke with Tsai on Sunday. He also called to get more weapons sent to Taiwan, saying Taiwan is “not where they need to be” in a hypothetical China invasion.