Michael R. Pompeo speaking at Hudson this week. (Cherie Cullen for Hudson Institute)

Why should a machinist in Wichita, Kansas, or a schoolteacher in Des Moines care about what happens in the Donbas? Distinguished Fellow and the 70th U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo  addressed this during a major speech at Hudson this week and discussed China’s threat to Taiwan, Russia’s desire to dominate its neighbors, and America’s need to build “hubs of new security architecture that links alliances of free nations globally.”

See below for more, and don’t miss Senior Fellow Peter Rough’s conversation with Finnish Ambassador Mikko Hautala on Finland’s application to join NATO.

Key Insights

1. China Is Watching What Happens in Ukraine, and America Must Stop China from Invading Taiwan

America must not let Afghanistan or the war in Ukraine be the signal that ignites combat in the Indo-Pacific. Part of how the U.S. stops China from trying to conquer Taiwan is what we do in Ukraine. The 1970 Taiwan Relations Act requires that we maintain Taiwan’s defensive abilities to thwart an attack, but we’re now in danger of becoming complacent. The capture of Taiwan would allow Beijing to reduce American influence in the Indo-Pacific, jeopardize America’s status as a superpower, and invite armed conflict affecting our nation directly. An attack would also greatly damage the American economy and give the Chinese military the opportunity to threaten the entirety of the Indo-Pacific, including Guam, Hawaii, Japan, and Australia. So America should reinforce its relationship with Taiwan, and the government should immediately confer diplomatic recognition to Taiwan. Pompeo added, “Taiwan is already an independent country. Our government should simply reflect that fact.”

2. Helping Ukraine Will Prevent Russia from Rebuilding the Soviet Empire and Controlling Energy Resources

America and the West must acknowledge the centrality of hydrocarbon energy to geopolitics. This war is a clarion call. Energy, economic security, and military strength are pillars upon which geostrategic power and peace rest. Energy is the fundamental basis for everything we consume. If energy prices spiral further, the economies of every nation will fragment, leading to a massive worldwide recession and to authoritarian regimes coalescing their power in a time of turmoil and political strife. Indeed, if Russia was allowed dominion over the Donbas and Ukraine’s coast, Putin would seek control of the energy resources of other independent countries, including those that were once part of the Soviet empire. Russia would become a juggernaut dominating fossil fuels. If Russia controls Ukraine’s energy, today’s ruinous prices at the pump will be remembered as a time of cheap gas.

3. Build a Global Alliance for Freedom with Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan

Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan can be the hubs of new security architecture that links alliances of free nations globally, reinforcing the strengths of each member state. In time, linking these three bastions with NATO and the new and expanded security framework for the Indo-Pacific would form a global alliance for freedom. This would benefit America. This network of alliances cannot come too soon. The world has become too small for free countries to not be part of something greater that will forestall armed conflict rather than react to it.

Quotes may be edited for clarity and length. 

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