Sen. Tom Cotton: ‘China Is Our Number One Enemy in the World’

EXCERPT:

COTTON: "China is our number one enemy in the world. That’s one difference. Second, Taiwan is geographically vital to access the Western Pacific where so much of our economic prosperity is based. If China can take Taiwan, it has what Douglas MacArthur called an unsinkable aircraft carrier. That gets it outside the so-called First Island Chain where we have so many partners and bases, places like South Korea, Japan, the Philippines. Moreover, Taiwan is an advanced industrial democracy, which has a company that produces the most hi-tech semiconductor chips in the world. It's the only place right now those chips are made. If China were to get its hands on that, it would threaten the prosperity of all Americans. And finally, if China were able to seize Taiwan, there is no telling where it would stop. Again, that’s a much harder operation than threats on land because it has to go across the Taiwanese Strait. So, if the United States stand by and lets them execute the hardest military operation, then it would imperil all of our partners across east and south Asia."