\n<\/p>\n
On Tuesday\u2019s broadcast of CNN International\u2019s \u201cThe Brief,\u201d Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) said that \u201cthe Chinese are watching\u201d the blockade of Iranian ports \u201cand they\u2019re saying, look, if President Trump can do a blockade, what if they were to do a blockade around Taiwan?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bera said, \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good strategy. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s well thought through. If you want to de-escalate this war and the Iranians play a game of chicken with you and move a ship through, are you going to shoot that ship down? Because that is not going to be de-escalatory. That is not going to move you closer to a long-term ceasefire.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cI also, as someone who really does focus on Asia and the Pacific, the Chinese are watching here, and they\u2019re saying, look, if President Trump can do a blockade, what if they were to do a blockade around Taiwan? That is something I worry about, very much, at this juncture. And we want to avoid a kinetic conflict with Beijing. We don\u2019t want a war with Beijing. But we do want to protect the people of Taiwan and let them choose their future. So, I think President Trump is playing a very dangerous game without consultation of the members of the United States Congress, as well as our allies in Asia and Europe, and that\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Follow <\/em>Ian\u00a0Hanchett on Twitter\u00a0@IanHanchett<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n