By Michael Brand
On Thursday, July 28th, both houses of Congress passed a bipartisan bill allocating billions of dollars towards semiconductor chip production. Semiconductor chips are the foundation of anything computerized; From iPhones to electric cars, having an independent supply of semiconductors is essential for national security. The bill serves as a pivotal step in competing with China at a time of high tensions.
Just hours before Congress passed the Chips and Science Act, President Biden had a phone call with China’s Xi Jinping. As the war in Ukraine rages on, many are concerned that China will wage a similar war with Taiwan. During the meeting, Biden was not looking to improve the tenuous relationship with China, but rather looked to maintain a personal connection as it could help decrease the risk of miscalculation (Liptak). The phone call was centered around a handful of important issues, but the one that has stuck out regarded Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and her potential travel to Taipei. Pelosi was originally planning to visit in April, but got COVID-19 and had to reschedule.
During the meeting, Xi made it crystal clear that a Pelosi visit will embolden China. China holds a position that Taiwan is not an independent country and shall not be treated as one. An official visit to Taiwan would be a signal to Beijing that the United States recognizes Taiwan as a country. When saying “those who play with fire will perish by it”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signals that Pelosi’s trip has a high risk of causing miscalculation (Associated Press). But Taiwanese defense experts disagree, believing Beijing will not try anything risky and will instead “signal displeasure with scaled up saber-rattling, such as sending dozens of People’s Liberation Army aircraft deep into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone” (Shepherd). Ultimately, Pelosi’s trip seems like an unnecessary action that would have symbolic consequences in the United States and China relation.
Despite a trip damaging relations and increasing tensions, multiple high level United States officials approve and support the idea of Pelosi visiting Taiwan. In a rare showing of bi-partisanship, most of those supporting a trip come from the Republican side of the aisle. Ben Sasse, a republican senator from Nebraska, came out as one of Pelosi’s strongest supporters, defending the trip as simple and reasonable as, “Taiwan is an ally and the speaker of the House of Representatives should meet with the Taiwanese men and women who stare down the threat of Communist China'' (Kim and Lee). Several former Trump officials have also come out in support of the trip, with Mike Pompeo even offering to go with her.
Support from the other side of the aisle does not make this trip a good idea. The perspective of Pelosi and Republicans is petty and not purposeful. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut put it eloquently when explaining, “we should be purposeful. If we’re going to change our Taiwan policy, let’s make it a collective decision to do so. Let’s not do it by accident through a series of uncoordinated steps” (Wong). Pelosi’s trip would be throwing fuel on the raging fire of tensions between the two countries. It’s not worth doing, even if it looks cool.
When it comes to foreign relations, it is important to take purposeful steps towards accomplishing our goals. Last week we saw one of those when Congress passed the Chips and Science Act which will give the United States the capability to produce a commodity crucial to the country’s national security. Last week also saw risky foreign policy in the form of symbolic actions that have no probative benefit but risk massive problems, in the form of Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. The reactions from those in Congress on both sides of the aisle show that protecting Taiwan and national security are bipartisan issues. However, balancing both of those issues and escalating tensions with China is a daunting task where even symbolic mistakes can be devastating.
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