The U.S President, Joe Biden said on Monday that the U.S would send military to defend Taiwan if China invades the island nation.
President Biden stated this during a news conference in Tokyo alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida,
“Very quickly, you didn’t want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons. Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?” a reporter asked the president during a news conference in Japan.
“Yes,” Biden replied.
“You are?” the reporter pressed.
“That’s the commitment we made,” the president said.
However, shortly after Biden’s assertion, a white spokesperson appeared to walk back Biden’s military intervention assertion. He told Fox News that the administration’s policy “has not changed,” adding that the president “reiterated our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself.”
He said: “As the President said, our policy has not changed. He reiterated our One China Policy and our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, He also reiterated our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself.”
China’s foreign ministry said the U.S. should not defend Taiwan’s independence, Reuters reported.
Biden also said that the U.S “policy toward Taiwan” had “not changed at all.” By law, the U.S is required to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons, and a policy of “strategic ambiguity” which made it unclear how the U.S would respond if Taiwan is invaded.
Biden also said the U.S would continue to act in line with the One China policy, which recognizes the Washington’s formal relationship with Beijing. However, he added that “We remain committed to supporting the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and ensuring there’s no unilateral change to the status quo.”
The “One China policy” refers to the U.S. recognition of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China, but only acknowledges, without endorsing, Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is part of China.
The U.S does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, under the One China policy, but it maintains an unofficial embassy on the island.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
