Last week, the Czech Republic’s new president-elect, Petr Pavel, made a bold decision to call his Taiwanese counterpart Tsai Ing-wen and express his support for her country’s continued independence from
China
. The Chinese Communist Party predictably
denounced
Pavel for “interference in China’s internal affairs,” but their veiled threats did little to frighten the Czech leader. In fact, he vowed to meet Tsai in person to discuss ways their countries can cooperate more closely.
Americans can learn much from Pavel’s act of bravery, but first, they must realize that his decision to stand up to CCP bullies has a great deal to do with the U.S.’s leadership in both Asia and Europe. Our continued support for Ukraine, for example, inspires a united front against revisionist despots everywhere, including both Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
Some analysts attempt to draw sharp distinctions between the Eastern European and Pacific theaters in our present great power conflict. Elbridge Colby, for instance,
contends
that America faces “a very real choice between Asia and Europe.” In his view, we must pick between supporting Taiwan or supporting Ukraine.
Colby favors choosing Taiwan in part because he believes China is a bigger threat than Russia. But that minimizes the ways in which China and Russia are cooperating in anti-Western actions. As President-elect Pavel recently told the
Financial Times
, “China and its regime is not a friendly country at this moment, it is not compatible with Western democracies in their strategic goals and principles.” Putin simply would not be able to fight the way he has been in Ukraine without the implicit support of Chairman Xi. We are witnessing a convergence of Chinese and Russian interests. What strengthens one of our enemies tends to strengthen the other — and what weakens one tends to weaken the other, too.
Colby also urged Washington to choose Taiwan over Ukraine because he considers the Europeans unreliable allies. He has frequently
argued
Europe’s economic interests are too dependent on China to make them useful if fighting breaks out in the Pacific. It is indisputably true that China has weaseled its way deeply into the economies of some European countries, such as
Germany
and
Hungary
. But, as Pavel’s call to Tsai proves, China has not conquered the minds, hearts, and wallets of every European.
Nor are the Czechs the only Eastern Europeans to show their support for
Taiwan
in these critical days. Last year, for example, Lithuania defied China by establishing a diplomatic office in Taipei. As one Lithuanian official told
Voice of America
, “Lithuania and Taiwan want to build connections because we feel as like-minded partners that share the same democracy, rule of law, and human rights values.”
Eastern Europe understands the nature of tyranny — and what it takes to resist it. Those who languished in the Soviet Union’s prison of nations take Putin seriously when he says he
considers
the collapse of the USSR “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” The experience of Soviet tyranny also taught them about the dangerous ambitions of Marxist revolutionaries, so it makes sense they are also wary of Communist China’s attempts to exert control over Taiwan. The world is seeing a rebirth of despotic imperialism, and Eastern Europe is on the front lines of the fight against it.
But it is doubtful Eastern Europe could maintain this strong resistance to Russia and China without American support. Countries such as the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Poland are dwarfed by the might of great powers. Our economic, diplomatic, and military aid is necessary for their very survival. Assuming otherwise is simply unrealistic.
The Czechs are able to stand up to Chairman Xi — and the Ukrainians are able to stand up to Vladimir Putin — because America has their backs. Do those in Colby’s camp truly believe European countries would be
increasing
defense spending if the United States withdrew support for Ukraine? Doing something like that would shatter what confidence the Europeans still have. Would evacuating American bases in Europe, as some “realists” have called for, make Xi more or less likely to invade Taiwan? Retreating from Afghanistan certainly
did not seem
to deter Putin.
To be sure, it is worrying to hear how the war in Ukraine has
depleted
U.S. resources. But the answer to that problem cannot be found in abandoning one set of allies for another. We need strong alliances to navigate conflicts that may erupt in the near future. Policymakers should instead be looking for ways to rebuild our defense supply chains — even if it means cutting into domestic spending.
In the troubled state of world affairs, what is needed most of all is resolve.
NATO
and other countries standing against revisionism should emulate Petr Pavel’s daring support for Taiwan. But most of all, American leaders need to understand that his stand would be impossible were it not for our continued support and leadership in Eastern Europe.
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Michael Lucchese is the founder of Pipe Creek Consulting, a communications firm based in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, he was a communications aide to U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse. He graduated from Hillsdale College in 2018, and in 2017 was a Political Studies fellow at the Hudson Institute.
