Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) speaks to reporters after a House Republican Caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 21, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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The United States has entered “the window of maximum danger” when it comes to defending Taiwan, as the Chinese regime may seek to move against the self-ruled island within the next five years, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) said on Oct. 18.
“We must put American hard power in [Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s] path before it’s too late,” Gallagher said in a speech at The Heritage Foundation.
Gallagher, a former Marine sitting on the House Armed Services Committee, said the United States couldn’t build a fleet of warships to defend Taiwan within the next five years, but it could create an anti-navy to accomplish the same goal.
“By anti-navy, I mean asymmetric forces and weapons designed to target the Chinese navy, deny control of the seas surrounding Taiwan, and prevent [People’s Liberation Army] amphibious forces from gaining a lodgement on the island,” he said.
Gallagher said the initial step would involve the surging of long-range conventional precision weapons in three concentric rings across the Pacific, from the first island chain on China’s coastline to Alaska, Hawaii, and Australia.
The second step is to stockpile munitions before any shooting begins.
“At current production rates, for example, it will take at least two years to boost Javelin production from 2,100 to 4,000 missiles annually,” Gallagher said. “In many cases, Chinese companies are the sole source or a primary supplier for the energetic materials used in our missiles.”
The final step of building an anti-navy is arming Taiwan “to the teeth,” he said, calling on Washington to clear the backlog of $14 billion worth of arms sales to Taiwan that have been approved but not delivered.
‘Lack of Leadership’ in US Defense
Gallagher said Washington can afford these moves by “reducing the size of [the Department of Defense’s] civilian workforce, the joint staff, the office of the secretary of defense, the overall number of flag and general officers, and the fast-growing DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] bureaucracy.”
“We can resurrect the 2015 Defense Business Board study of DOD’s core business practices, which identified a path to saving $125 billion over five years, more than enough to fund the anti-navy and the navy the nation needs,” he said.
Gallagher also criticized the “lack of leadership” in the Biden administration’s defense strategy.
“We lack leadership in the Pentagon capable of bending the bureaucracy to their will in service of a defense strategy that prioritizes hard power,” the Republican lawmaker said. “And we lack leadership in the White House that understands the paradox of deterrence—that to avoid war, you must convince your adversary that you are both capable and willing to wage war.”
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims Taiwan as part of its territory, even as Taiwan is a sovereign nation with a democratically elected government. Beijing has vowed to conquer Taiwan by force if necessary.
The CCP initiated military drills near Taiwan after a controversial visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in August, firing multiple ballistic missiles over Taiwan and imposing a blockade of its international sea.