Taipei [Taiwan], April 21 : Amid rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait, US Representative Seth Moulton has reaffirmed Washington's commitment to bolstering Taiwan's defence capabilities against potential aggression from China, Taiwan News reported.
In comments made during an interview with Taiwan News, Moulton stressed that the US is determined to help Taiwan deter a Chinese invasion and preserve peace in the region.
"Neither Taiwanese nor Americans want to have a war with China," Moulton said. "Therefore, the US is going to do whatever we can to deter that and prevent it from happening, and where that means tighter security cooperation in the name of deterrence, in the name of peace, we're happy to do that."
Moulton emphasised that Washington's support is rooted in the goal of ensuring stability and preventing conflict through increased defence collaboration.
While making clear that he did not want to see conflict arise, Moulton praised Taiwan for "thinking much more creatively" about how to strengthen its defensive posture. Based on his visits to Taiwan in recent years, he said there had been a "dramatic improvement" in how the country has adopted an asymmetric defence strategy to resist China, as per reports by Taiwan News.
He noted that the United States has been actively encouraging partners to prioritise asymmetric approaches, and that "Taiwan is fully embracing it now."
Beyond defence, Moulton said that the US Congress is also aiming to deepen economic ties with Taiwan. "There's a lot of push behind the scenes for a free trade deal," he said, signalling bipartisan support for strengthening bilateral economic engagement.
Addressing broader concerns, Moulton warned about the rise of isolationist tendencies in US foreign policy, calling it "not a good historical trend for the United States." He added that adversaries have exploited such isolation in the past.
However, he remained optimistic, saying that "Democrats and Republicans are much more united behind the scenes," and even within the Trump administration, many senior officials oppose isolationism, Taiwan News reported.
Moulton serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. He last visited Taiwan in February as part of a US congressional delegation.
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