In January 1955, Congress answered Mao Zedong’s bombardment of Kinmen by passing the historic “Formosa Resolution.” This crucial legislation authorized President Dwight Eisenhower to defend Taiwan and its offshore islands with American military force. When Beijing tested that pledge in August 1958 by shelling the garrison and attempting a starvation blockade, the U.S. Navy escorted Nationalist resupply ships directly to the beaches, breaking the siege and forcing a Chinese retreat. Today, Washington faces a test of resolve, yet policymakers seem blind to the historical stakes.

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping (better known in his country as “Winnie the Pooh”) recently ordered the People’s Liberation Army to field a successful Taiwan invasion capability by 2027. While the Office of the Director of National Intelligence timidly asserts that Beijing has no fixed timeline, the Pentagon rightly judges that Chinese leadership demands war readiness by that centenary. A customs quarantine offers Beijing a low-risk, high-reward opening salvo; therefore, Chinese planners expect to close the Taiwan Strait, choke the island, and simply wait for a hesitant Washington to blink.