Biden vows to defend Taiwan from Chinese military action

Washington: United States (US) President Joe Biden vowed to defend Taiwan from Chinese military action, in comments that contradicted US policy to maintain an ambiguous stance over whether it would come to its rescue.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden said that, “the U.S has a commitment to protect Taiwan as the island faces growing military and political pressure from Beijing”.

"Yes, we have a commitment to do that," Biden said at a CNN town hall when asked if the US would come to the defense of Taiwan, which has complained of mounting military and political pressure from Beijing to accept Chinese sovereignty. 

While Washington is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, it has long followed a policy of "strategic ambiguity" on whether it would intervene militarily to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

In August, a Biden administration official said U.S. policy on Taiwan had not changed after the president appeared to suggest the United States would defend the island if it were attacked.

A White House spokesperson said Biden at his town hall was not announcing any change in U.S. policy and "there is no change in our policy", but declined further comment when asked if Biden had misspoken.

"The U.S. defense relationship with Taiwan is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act. We will uphold our commitment under the Act, we will continue to support Taiwan's self-defense, and we will continue to oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo," the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, China expressed its displeasure anyway, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying the country has no room for concessions on its core interests.

China urges the United States "not to send the wrong signals to the forces of Taiwan independence, to avoid seriously harming Sino-U.S. ties and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," spokesman Wang Wenbin said in Beijing.

Taiwan's presidential office said its position remains the same, which is that it will neither give in to pressure nor "rashly advance" when it gets support.

Taiwan will show a firm determination to defend itself, presidential office spokesperson Xavier Chang said in a statement, adding that the Biden administration's continued concrete actions show its "rock-solid" support for Taiwan.

Biden said people should not worry about Washington's military strength because "China, Russia and the rest of the world knows we're the most powerful military in the history of the world."

"What you do have to worry about is whether or not they're going to engage in activities that would put them in a position where they may make a serious mistake," Biden said.

"I don't want a cold war with China. I just want China to understand that we're not going to step back, that we're not going to change any of our views."

Military tensions between Taiwan and China are at their worst in more than 40 years, Taiwan's Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said this month, adding that China will be capable of mounting a "full-scale" invasion by 2025.

Taiwan says it is an independent country and will defend its freedoms and democracy.

China says Taiwan is the most sensitive and important issue in its ties with the United States and has denounced what it calls "collusion" between Washington and Taipei.

COURTESY: REUTERS