In the wake of a Chinese Foreign Ministry official threatening retaliation against the U.S. for providing military aid to Taiwan, a U.S. senator is warning that the Biden administration is sleeping at the wheel while China is playing a long game to ultimately usurp the U.S. as the world’s superpower.

As part of the $95 billion aid package passed by Congress last week, the U.S. designated about $2 billion to be set aside for weapons purchases for Taiwan, which include “a wide range of parts and services aimed at maintaining and upgrading Taiwan’s military hardware.” Foreign Policy reports that how the new aid will be spent will largely be determined by U.S. officials, who have long been urging Taiwan to adopt a “porcupine strategy” — to make the island “a pricklier target that might make China think twice about attacking it.”

This strategy would include “an asymmetric toolkit of coastal defense cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and shoulder-fired weapons that could sink Chinese boats before they land and bog down the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in a block-by-block fight if it gets ashore.” The U.S. is also speeding up the delivery of 66 F-16 fighter jets and Patriot air defense batteries to the island and is urging Taiwan to spend more on its military budget, which it recently boosted by more than one-fifth to 2.6% of GDP, having acquired “U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers and SeaGuardian drones.”

But Taiwan’s defense buildup and $2 billion infusion of U.S. aid has roiled China. During a briefing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian denounced the aid, claiming it “gravely infringes upon China’s sovereignty.” He went on to claim that it “seriously violates the one-China principle ... and sends a seriously wrong signal to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”

“If the United States clings obstinately to its course, China will take resolute and forceful steps to firmly defend its own security and development interests,” Lin added.

Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) was not surprised by the threat, as he explained during Tuesday’s edition of “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins.”

“[W]e’ve got to remember that the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Republic of China is our chief adversary in the world and an existential threat to this country,” he noted. “Xi Jinping has been very clear. He wants to replace us and create a Chinese world order, where he sets the rules about what’s going to go on. He’s also been very clear that he wants Taiwan part of China again.”

Ricketts went on to describe how critical it is on a global scale for Taiwan to be able to deter a Chinese invasion. “This is in the entire world’s interest, because if China were to try to take Taiwan by force, it would lead to a major power war [and] have huge impacts because 30% of the world’s trade goes through the [Taiwan] Strait right there. I’ve seen some estimates that I think are probably conservative, that world GDP would drop by 10% in just the first year of that war. … [W]e need to … continue to stand strong on our path [and] support Taiwan to be able to deter China from trying to take this by force.”

“China’s been playing the long game to overtake the United States economically and militarily,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins contended. “Under the policies of this administration, [it’s] lacking that focus.”

Ricketts concurred, further arguing that the Biden administration is not projecting strength toward China. “Unfortunately, I think if you look at the White House, this is not one of the things that they have made a big priority. [W]hen China sends a spy balloon over our country, we see a very ineffectual response from the White House towards this. … We need to see an administration that’s very clear, going to clearly lay down the markers with regard to what our policy is, how we’re going to support Taiwan — and let Xi Jinping know that should he step over the line, we will be there very forcefully to push back against it.”

Ricketts illustrated the Biden administration’s lack of focus by pointing out its electric vehicle policies.

“The Biden administration has just produced new rules that require two-thirds of all vehicles sold in the year 2032 to be electric vehicles,” the senator explained. “[But] China processes between 60 and 80% of a lot of the rare earth elements and critical minerals we need to make batteries, things like graphite or cobalt or manganese or lithium or whatever you want. … Why on earth would we want to make ourselves dependent on our chief adversary in the world? You know, this is just part of how crazy stupid this administration is.”

“And at the same time they’re mandating EVs, they’re also attacking American energy,” he continued. “They’ve cancelled leases. They’ve just put out new a new clean power plan, which is going to shut down our clean coal plants and our natural gas. Where do they expect this electricity to come from? … [A]ll of our American families are facing Bidenflation right now with his terrible policies and reckless spending. But just think about this. An average EV costs $53,000. A low-income family will spend, on average, $12,000 for a regular car. If you mandate all these electric vehicles, you’re going to drive up the cost of regular cars.”

“[T]his administration does not think, it doesn’t plan,” Ricketts concluded. “[I]t’s actually undermining our ability to keep the world safe and our country safe.”