Defending Taiwan 'critical,' says Rubio at U.S. Senate hearing

Washington, Jan. 15 (CNA) Senator Marco Rubio, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state, said during his Senate nomination hearing on Wednesday that defending Taiwan against China was "critical" for the United States.

"We reject any effort to coerce, intimidate and or forcibly drive Taiwan to do whatever China wants them to do," Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which expressed bi-partisan support for his nomination.

The Republican Senator from Florida since 2011 is on track to become his country's top diplomat as leader of the U.S. State Department under Trump's second administration, which is set to formally start on Monday.

At the Senate hearing, Rubio said that China needs to "stop messing around with Taiwan" and vowed to continue the United States' "one China" policy, which he said had been "consistent and reaffirmed by every administration since 1979."

According to the presumptive nominee for secretary of state, the U.S.' China policy, based on the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances, means that Washington would "make no commitment to not helping" Taiwan defend itself and would not "force any outcomes."

"We're not going to pressure Taiwan in any arrangement," he said.

Referring to Beijing's efforts to isolate Taiwan from the international community, Rubio also said it was "important" for the United States to enable Taiwan's involvement in global forums "irrespective" of China's claims over Taiwan.

Rubio expressed his strong support for Taiwan to apply a "porcupine strategy" and suggested that making "the cost of invading Taiwan higher than the benefit" could deter Chinese aggression.

During the nomination hearing that lasted around four hours, Rubio promised to uphold the "unmistakable mandate" from the U.S. electorate for a "strong America" that was "engaged with the world."

In interactions with senators that centered on Washington's relationship with Beijing, Rubio called China "the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted" and "the threat that will define this century."

Presiding over the nomination hearing, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch said that China was "the most significant long-term risk to the United States" and that Washington must work with its allies in Asia, including Taiwan, "to boost their military spending and bolster their ability to deter China."

After his nomination formally clears the Senate floor, Rubio will replace Antony Blinken as head of the U.S. State Department, which manages the superpower's foreign relations.

The son of Cuban immigrants, the 53-year-old Miami-born senator has consistently voiced opposition to communism and supported policies to counter China, which claims Taiwan as a part of its territory despite having never ruled the island.