US President Donald Trumpโs nominee to oversee the Pentagonโs defence strategy faced intense scrutiny from the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, including about what members called his โsoftenedโ views on Taiwan.
If confirmed by the Senate as undersecretary of defence for policy โ the No 3 position in the Department of Defence โ Elbridge Colby, grandson of one-time CIA director William Colby, would also oversee the Pentagon budget and manage crisis response.
Colby, 45, served briefly at the Pentagon during Trumpโs first term and advocated strengthening military deterrence to prevent conflicts, especially with Beijing. He was also the lead author of the departmentโs 2018 National Defence Strategy.
Colby, whose nomination has reportedly created rifts among Republican senators, was also grilled regarding his stance on reducing American involvement in the Middle East, particularly with Iran, while shifting the Pentagonโs focus on countering China.
โYour views on Taiwanโs importance to the United States seems to have softened, softened considerably. I hope we can clarify those views today,โ Senator Roger Wicker, the Mississippi Republican who chairs the committee, said in his opening remarks.
In a September column for The Wall Street Journal, Colby, a long-time China hawk, argued that Taiwan โisnโt of itself of existential importance to Americaโ, asserting that โour core interest is in denying China regional hegemony over Asia.
โTaiwan is very important for that goal, but not essential.โ