White House says US policy has not changed/CNN
US President Joseph Biden said the US will defend Taiwan if China invades. The White House noted that the official position of the country remains unchanged.
Biden made such a statement during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. He noted that the United States will fulfill its obligations.
The United States supports the One China policy
During the press conference, journalists asked Biden if the US was ready to take part in the fighting in Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, while noting that the United States “understandably” does not take a direct part in the war in Ukraine.
Yes, those are the commitments we made. We agree with the One China policy. We signed it and all relevant agreements, but the idea that Taiwan can be taken by force, simply taken by force, is inappropriate, the US President replied.
Under the One China policy, the US recognizes China's position that Taiwan is part of it. At the same time, they never officially recognized Beijing's claims to the island. The United States is providing weapons to Taiwan, but remains undecided as to whether it will intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.
That was until Biden's powerful slip of the tongue during his first trip to Asia as president. This visit aims to unite allies and partners to counter a rising China. Biden is also due to attend a second in-person summit of the Quad Security Dialogue (Quad), an informal alliance between the US, Japan, Australia, and India.
Several senior officials in the US presidential administration said they did not expect Biden to will be so clear. The representative of the White House in an official statement noted that the official position of the United States remains unchanged.
“As the president said, our policy has not changed. He reaffirmed our support for the One China policy and our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also reaffirmed our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Law, namely to provide Taiwan with military means to protection,” the official added.
China is unhappy with Biden's statement
Hours later, China voiced “strong displeasure and strong opposition” to Biden's comments. They said they would not allow any outside force to interfere in the country's “internal affairs.”
“There is no room for compromise on issues relating to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and other core interests,” said a Foreign Ministry spokesman. Affairs of China Wang Wenbin.
He added that China urges the US to seriously adhere to the principle of “One China” and be careful in words and deeds on the issue of Taiwan. They also demand that “no wrong signals” be sent to pro-Taiwan independent and separatist forces. This could seriously damage the situation around the Taiwan Strait and the relationship between China and the United States.
Please note that Taiwan is located less than 177 kilometers from the coast of China. For more than 70 years, the administration of both territories was carried out separately, but this did not prevent the leading Communist Party of China from recognizing the island as their own. Even though China has never controlled it. Chinese leader Xi Jinping said this “reunification” is inevitable. In addition, he refused to rule out the use of force.
For her part, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said she “expresses sincere greetings and thanks to President Biden and the United States government for reaffirming its firm allegiance to Taiwan.”
Pay attention! Tensions between Beijing and Taipei have reached their highest level in recent decades. At the same time, the Chinese military deployed a record number of aircraft near the island.
