Carlos Del Toro, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the next Secretary of the Navy, apparently doesn’t recognize the One China policy. “It’s incredibly important to defend Taiwan in every way possible,” Del Toro told the Senate Armed Services Committee at his confirmation hearing on July 13, in response to questions from Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). “It takes a holistic view of our national commitment to Taiwan. We should be focused on providing Taiwan with as much self-defensive measures as humanly possible.
“And if confirmed to the Navy, I am going to be exclusively focused on the China threat and exclusively focused on moving our maritime strategy forward in order to protect Taiwan and all of our national security interests in the Indo-Pacific theater,” he went on.
Pressed later in the July 13 hearing by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) on whether it is “vital” for the United States to maintain the ability to defeat a Chinese takeover of Taiwan and whether the Navy should prioritize the possibility of a Chinese invasion of the island as it develops operational concepts, Del Toro, a retired Navy officer and government contractor, replied “absolutely” to both questions.
