The House of Representatives is discussing a move that would effectively amount to an act of war if carried out: a naval blockade on China. The proposal for an amendment to the next defense budget of the United States came from Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson from Texas, the Epoch Times reports, and was among another 800 amendments approved by the House Armed Services Committee.
In fairness, the proposal Jackson made is for a Pentagon “study of an oil naval blockade of China,” and according to the author it does not amount to aggression or war.
Not all in Congress agree with Jackson, however.
“I can guarantee you if China issues a plan tomorrow about how it would blockade the United States, we’d consider that very provocative,” Democrat Adam Smith from Washington said, as quoted by the Epoch Times.
There are plenty of hawks in the House, though, it seems, and they have no issue whatsoever in discussing war with China.
One Republican Representative, Marl Alford, said that it was time the U.S. stopped worrying about whether talking about a war with China would make China angry.
“China is openly talking about being ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, maybe by 2025,” Alford said, per the Epoch Times. “We must think about this strategically, and that should include energy and what we should do to cut off China’s supplies.”
Some noted that the Pentagon is already studying a naval blockade of China but the results of the study that was proposed by Rep. Jackson and approved by the defense committee are better discussed behind closed doors.
Others made a point of arguing that nobody in Congress actually wanted a war with China.
“There is a narrative out there that there are people in the United States, including in Congress, trying to egg on a war with China. None of us want a war with China,” Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Seth Moulton said.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
