WHEN WE LANDED in late March at Songshan Air Base in the heart of Taipei,
the stakes in Asia were not abstract.
Hardened hangars, jet fly-bys
and armed personnel are part of daily life in a capital just a hundred miles from China.
That proximity shapes every decision Taiwan makes.
An invasion by China would trigger an immediate global economic catastrophe
and the loss of countless innocent lives.
The stakes are high, and they matter to people all over the world.
America's unwavering support for its partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific is the bedrock deterrent
preventing such a calamity.
And deterring China requires clear and consistent signals from Washington,
both from Congress, which maintains its leading role in US-Taiwan policy,
and the White House.
With China engaged in increasingly aggressive behaviour
and its partners in Russia, North Korea and Iran looking to test American resolve,
friends and allies are counting on the United States to hold the line.
Across the Indo-Pacific, in meetings with heads of state and ministers,
we saw how closely America's partners and adversaries alike track its actions,
and how central America's support and presence are to them.
In Taipei officials described China's increasing air and naval activity around Taiwan,