Rep. Tenney to Newsmax: Stronger Congress, White House Will Deter China Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y. (Getty Images)
By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 13 September 2022 12:23 PM EDT
China can still be deterred from invading Taiwan, but it will take the United States projecting strength through a GOP-controlled Congress and a stronger presidential administration taking office in 2025, Rep. Claudia Tenney, who visited Taiwan last week as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation, said on Newsmax on Tuesday.
"The Chinese are looking at the weakness and the inability to act, and the inability to project strength from the Biden administration," the New York Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report."
"They're going to take advantage of that. If we can take back the House, take back the Senate, and show some strength in the waning days of the end of the Biden administration, I think seeing a stronger administration coming in and 2024 into 2025 could potentially deter China."
Tenney, who is facing a reelection challenge from Democrat Steve Holden for the N.Y.-24 seat, added that it's "important that we take back the House and project the strength and the strength that we had under the Trump administration."
Tenney's comments came after former national security Robert O'Brien said in a recent interview that the timeline for Chinese aggression against Taiwan has been shortened and that there is a "narrow two-year window" in which the Chinese could forcibly coerce Taiwan into rejoining the mainland.
The Communist party Congress will conclude during the first or second week of October, when Chinese leader Xi Jinping will get his third five-year term, effectively making him dictator for life, and as that coincides with Biden's final years in office, that could lead to danger for Taiwan, O'Brien said.
Tenney said she last visited Taiwan in 2018, but the tensions were not as high.
"The United States under Joe Biden is projecting weakness, which is provocative to enemies like China, so the Taiwanese feel even more threatened by China's potential invasion," she said.
But when meeting with the government of Taiwan, the delegation learned they are looking for support and help from the United States as allies, "and that's something we pledged to do," Tenney said.
"They were also looking for a free trade agreement, something that we thought would be a great idea," she said. "They're willing to invest billions of dollars in the United States with their very high-level semiconductors."
It's also important to realign the imbalance of trade, as the United States is importing more than it's exporting, said Tenney.
"It was a very positive meeting and they are looking for our support and our help," she said. "They're willing to pay for our help as they see China threatening."
China is also looking as if it's "teaming up with Russia, which is something that we haven't seen in a long time," said Tenney.
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