Former U.S. defense official Joseph Bosco has urged the Biden administration to draw lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war and to more clearly state its commitment to defending Taiwan. Bosco called for a gradual increase in the number of warships passing through the Taiwan Strait to deter the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and prevent conflict in the region.
In a letter to the Congress newspaper The Hill on Tuesday, Bosco, a China specialist in the former Office of the Secretary of Defense, said that never since World War II have so many countries attempted to “change international boundaries” or even “eliminate entire nations.”
Bosco pointed out that with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the threat from the CCP towards Taiwan continues to escalate. Additionally, Iran and its proxies seek to destroy Israel, North Korea claims it will “eliminate” South Korea, creating a long-term state of near-war.
He noted that in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Western countries failed to prevent Russia’s aggression and war crimes, and subsequently did not support Ukraine to victory. This is seen as the most important lesson for the imminent cross-strait conflict.
Bosco wrote, “If Putin believes the U.S. will directly defend Ukraine as it promised in the Budapest Memorandum, Europe can avoid another war. Xi Jinping must understand the consequences of aggression in the Indo-Pacific.”
Bosco called on the U.S. to actively prepare and “address the information war before the outbreak of conflict.”
He stated that prior to invading Ukraine, Putin distorted recent events and historical records, claiming Ukraine was never an independent country. Russia also easily disregarded the 1994 Budapest Memorandum where the U.S., UK, and Russia pledged to “respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and existing borders” in exchange for all nuclear weapons in Ukraine being handed over to Russia.
Similarly, despite never having ruled Taiwan, the CCP continues to discuss the “unification” of both sides.
After the U.S. severed relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act, requiring the provision of defensive weapons to Taiwan to resist any resort to force or other forms of oppression.
However, Bosco believes that the Taiwan Relations Act does not commit the U.S. to actively intervene in cross-strait conflicts to protect Taiwan.
He warned that over the past 30 years, the CCP has gradually developed an “anti-access/area denial” strategy to establish an environment that prevents U.S. intervention in the Taiwan Strait conflict, gradually expanding the scope and intensity of its maritime and aerial exercises in the region.
Bosco urged the U.S. to gradually increase the number and scale of vessels passing through the Taiwan Strait until they form a complete naval battle group.
President Biden has stated four times that the U.S. will defend Taiwan, and Bosco called for the Biden administration to promote policies towards a clearer direction in the months leading up to the U.S. election.