Romney presses State Department to spell out diplomatic, economic consequences to China over Taiwan; deputy cites Taiwan Relations Act

Sen. Mitt Romney shifted the hearing to concerns about China and Taiwan, saying many lawmakers worry about "what China's ambitions might be with regards to Taiwan" and noting Taiwan's central role in global semiconductor manufacturing.

Romney asked what the State Department can do to make China understand the consequences of any coercive action against Taiwan, specifying he was not asking about military responses but rather diplomatic and economic penalties that could deter such an effort. "I would love to be very clear to the Chinese Communist Party about what would occur," he said, arguing that specificity could help Beijing "calculate just exactly what the cost" would be.

Deputy Secretary McKeon said she does not work on Taiwan policy daily but summarized the department's position: "As you know, it's grounded in the Taiwan Relations Act and our commitment to Taiwan's self defense and providing their legitimate self defense needs, which those arms sales go through the State Department approval process." She said U.S. deterrence also involves diplomatic engagement with other governments "to make it clear that coercion by China vis a vis Taiwan ... will not be accepted by the United States and the international community."

McKeon declined to expand on specific nonmilitary consequences in the hearing, saying the matter involves broader political work with other governments; Sen. Romney asked that the department provide clearer, more specific language about the likely diplomatic and economic responses outside the hearing.

The exchange concluded with an agreement to follow up later for more detail; no new policy or specific sanctions were announced during this session.