Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) warned over the weekend that the United States must increase its overall military preparedness or face an almost certain war with communist China in the near future.
Graham made the remarks during an interview on Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday” on Easter while talking about U.S. national security.
Graham’s remarks come as China has conducted aggressive military drills in recent days aimed at intimidating the free nation of Taiwan. The military exercises came after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen met with top U.S. leaders on U.S. soil last week.
“Taiwan’s not the problem,” Graham told host Shannon Bream. “Lindsey Graham’s not the problem. It’s Putin and it’s Xi.”
Graham said that deterrence was the best possible option and that it could only be achieved by having a superior military and technology.
“I would increase training and get the F-16s they need in Taiwan. There’s a backlog. I would solve that backlog. I would move more forces to South Korea and Japan,” Graham said. “I would up our game. If you don’t up your game now, you are going to have a war.”
Graham noted that the situation with Taiwan is different than Ukraine and that an invasion by China could result with U.S. troops being sucked into the fighting.
“Nobody wants World War III. But what kind of world do you want to live in? Do you want to live in a world where an island called Taiwan could be taken by China?” Graham said. “90% of the high-end microchips are made in Taiwan. They would have a monopoly on the digital economy.”
WATCH: