US war game on China attack finds Taiwan must be armed 'to the teeth'

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After conducting a war game simulating a Chinese invasion of Taiwan on Wednesday (April 19), U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher concluded that Taiwan must be armed 'to the teeth,' the U.S. must ramp up the production of long-range missiles, base agreements must be fortified, and American firms must prepare for the economic impact.

The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is led by Gallagher, coordinated a tabletop exercise on Wednesday with the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), which simulated a Chinese attack on Taiwan. The results showed that the U.S. will no longer be able to supply Taiwan once the war breaks out.

In a statement issued on Thursday (April 20), Gallagher said "We are well within the window of maximum danger for a Chinese Communist Party invasion of Taiwan, and yesterday's war game stressed the need to take action to deter CCP aggression and arm Taiwan to the teeth before any crisis begins," reported Reuters. He also said the U.S. must address a backlog of US$19 billion in undelivered arms sales to Taiwan, step up joint military training, and bolster U.S. forces in the region.

A source close to the committee outlined the conclusions to the news agency, including that the U.S. faces costly losses if Washington fails to strengthen base agreements with regional allies, the stockpile of long-range missiles will be swiftly depleted quickly, and global markets will be in "absolute tatters."

Prior to the game, Gallagher reportedly lamented that "The business community is not taking the threat of a Taiwan crisis seriously enough," and he warned that such a mindset borders on "dereliction of fiduciary duty."

In a tweet posted by the Select Committee on the CCP on Thursday, Gallagher wrote that “Deterring war is the only path to peace and stability, and it is incumbent upon elected officials to take decisive action to do so before it’s too late.” Gallagher added that “I think we have to take Xi Jinping seriously when he says repeatedly that he wants to take Taiwan by force if necessary.”

In another tweet uploaded by the committee, Gallagher had a simple message for the CCP: "Don't do it."

Meanwhile, Representative Rob Wittman warned Beijing, "Do not underestimate the resolve of the United States" and Representative Dusty Johnson said, "We do not seek war, but America is going to make sure that we're well positioned to be able to deter their aggression."

“Deterring war is the only path to peace and stability, and it is incumbent upon elected officials to take decisive action to do so before it’s too late.” -@RepGallagher

Last night, Select Committee members crafted a bipartisan response when wargaming a CCP invasion of Taiwan. pic.twitter.com/6CnoiZNFZy

— The Select Committee on the CCP (@committeeonccp) April 20, 2023

“Don’t do it.”

Chairman @RepGallagher and committee members @RobWittman and @RepDustyJohnson give advice to the CCP after studying the staggering costs of PLA aggression during the Select Committee’s tabletop exercise last night. pic.twitter.com/CTrn8rqb19

— The Select Committee on the CCP (@committeeonccp) April 20, 2023

“I think we have to take Xi Jinping seriously when he says repeatedly that he wants to take Taiwan by force if necessary.”

Following the Select Committee’s table top exercise, Chairman @RepGallagher discussed the CCP’s growing threat— alongside @RepDustyJohnson and @RobWittman. pic.twitter.com/7QbazmP2Sl

— The Select Committee on the CCP (@committeeonccp) April 20, 2023