Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley stated in an interview aired over the weekend that a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan would have a global economic impact ten times greater than the repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Haley made these comments during her appearance on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” with Margaret Brennan, addressing the threat China poses globally.
She also shared insights from a recent visit to Taiwan, where she observed the country’s military preparations for a possible conflict with China. This includes reducing investments in China, extending mandatory military service for 18-year-olds, and engaging in joint training exercises with the U.S.
“When it comes to our allies, when it comes to freedom-loving countries, we need to be the best friend to them that we can, because, if China takes Taiwan, what we saw with Russia and Ukraine, it affected 1 percent of GDP, and you saw the economy shake from that,” she said. “If China takes Taiwan, it would be 10 percent of the global GDP. That’s $10 trillion, compared to the $1 trillion in Ukraine. We need to care about that. We need to care about it from freedom. We need to care about it from the economy. We need to care about it from security.”
She warned that Americans should not assume everything will be “OK” if the U.S. adopts an isolationist stance and disregards Russian and Chinese aggression.
“What Taiwan is asking for is joint military training and to partner with us so that they can make weapons to defend themselves, and they want intelligence-sharing,” she said. “The best way to prevent war from China is to start arming Taiwan now and making sure that they’re ready.”
