Biden warns China about US military protection of Taiwan

Joe Biden issued a statement that US troops would defend Taiwan if China attacked. After the 60 Minutes, the White House said that the US policy on the Taiwan issue has not changed.

US President Joe Biden has said that US troops will defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, in what is his most outspoken statement so far on the matter, and is sure to anger Beijing.

Asked in an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes aired on Sunday if US forces would defend the Chinese-claimed island of Taiwan, he replied, “Yes, if there really is an unprecedented attack.”

Asked to clarify whether he meant that, unlike in Ukraine, U.S. troops—American men and women—would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, Biden replied, “Yes.”

A White House spokesman said US policy on Taiwan has not changed after the administration was asked about the president’s comment.

This interview is the latest on which Biden appears to go beyond the long-standing stated US policy on Taiwan, but his announcement was clearer than previous ones that US troops would go to defend the island.

The US has long pursued a policy of “strategic ambiguity” without specifying whether it will respond militarily to an attack on Taiwan.

A White House spokesman said after the 60 Minutes interview: “The president has spoken about this before, including in Tokyo earlier this year. He also made it clear at the time that our policy on Taiwan had not changed. It remains true.”

The CBS interview with Biden was taken last week. The President traveled to the UK to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

In May, Biden was asked if he was ready for the United States to participate in the military actions to protect Taiwan, and he replied: “Yes … We made such a commitment.”

In an interview with 60 Minutes, Biden confirmed that the US does not support Taiwan independence and remains committed to the “One China” policy, under which Washington officially recognizes Beijing, not Taipei.

As The Guardian notes, Biden’s new remarks are sure to provoke the ire of Beijing, which was strongly outraged by the visit to Taiwan of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August. The visit prompted China to hold its largest ever military exercise around Taiwan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to put Taiwan under Beijing’s control and did not rule out the use of force.

In a phone call with Biden in July, Xi Jinping warned Washington against playing with fire over Taiwan, saying “those who play with fire will themselves die from it.”

Asked last October whether the US would stand up for Taiwan, Biden replied, “Yes, we have a commitment to do so.” The United States is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

At the time, a White House spokesman said Biden had not announced any change in US policy, with some pundits calling the comment a “gaffe”.

Bonnie Glazer, an Asia expert at the German Marshall Fund in the US, says if Biden makes such promises, he needs to make sure he can keep them. “If President Biden plans to defend Taiwan, he must make sure that the US military has the capacity to do so,” the expert argues. “Rhetorical support not backed by real capabilities is unlikely to enhance deterrence.”

Biden’s Asian policy curator Kurt Campbell has in the past dismissed any move towards “strategic clarity” on Taiwan, saying the approach has “significant flaws.”