Key Sentence:
- President Joe Biden said the United States would defend Taiwan if China attacked, a clear departure from the old policy.
- “Yes, we have committed,” he said when asked at City Hall if the United States would defend Taiwan.
But a White House spokesman later told some US media that what he said did not imply a policy change. Taiwan replied that Biden’s remarks would not change its position on China. The United States has long practiced “strategic ambiguity” over the complex issue of protecting Taiwan.
This means that the United States is deliberately ambivalent about what it will do if China attacks the island. The US does’t have official diplomatic relations by Taiwan, but they sell them arms under the Taiwan Relations Act. Which states that the United States must help the island defend itself.
Taiwan’s presidential office responded to Biden’s remarks, saying it would not give in to pressure or “move in a hurry” if it had support. “Taiwan will show a strong determination to defend itself,” said presidential spokesman Xavier Cheng. Who also acknowledged that the Biden government continued to show “stable” support for Taiwan.
In recent weeks, tensions between Taiwan and China have risen after Beijing moved dozens of military aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense zone.
Biden added this he was not worried about a planned conflict with China and said there was no need to “worry whether they will be stronger” because “China. Russia and the rest of the world know that the strongest army in the world is “world history.”
“What you need to worry about is whether [China] is engaging in activities that will put you in a position when you can make serious mistakes,” he said. When CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked if the US would defend itself in the event of an attack by China against Taiwan, Biden said again.