TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher revealed plans to visit Taiwan on Tuesday (Jan. 30).

Following a hearing on the Chinese Communist Party and its support for Russia, Iran, and North Korea, Gallagher said he would travel to Taiwan but did not say when.

Gallagher, the chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said that Taiwan remains a top priority despite the Russia-Ukraine war and conflicts in the Middle East. He said the goal was to prevent a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, per CNA.

He added it was important to learn from the failures in Ukraine and the Middle East and to apply those lessons to the Indo-Pacific region. The U.S. does not seek war; rather, the emphasis is on deterrence, Gallagher said.

Focusing solely on the Middle East and neglecting the Indo-Pacific would result in a regional conflict and lead to greater costs, the representative said. Therefore, the region remains the primary task of the national security defense system, with a focus on strengthening conventional deterrence and cooperating with allies, he said.

During the hearing, Gallagher said: “We are in a decisive moment for U.S. national security. As we watch China undertake the largest peacetime military buildup since at least World War II, it finds eager friends in Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang. We ignore them at our peril.”

Gallagher last visited Taiwan in February 2023 and met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德). During the trip, he pledged to help speed up arms deliveries to Taiwan.