US would defend Taiwan Says Biden; Beijing asks Washington to ‘act and speak cautiously’
The United States will defend Taiwan if China attacks it, President Joe Biden said, prompting a warning from Beijing yesterday that its determination to take back the democratic island should not be underestimated.
Authoritarian China regards self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize the island, by force if needed.
Beijing's sabre-rattling has ramped up in recent years, exacerbating fears the island of 23 million people could become a major global flashpoint.
At a CNN town hall, Biden was asked whether the US would come to Taiwan's defence if China invaded. "Yes," he responded. "We have a commitment to that."
Biden's statement was at odds with the long-held US policy known as "strategic ambiguity," where Washington helps build Taiwan's defenses but does not explicitly promise to come to the island's help in the event of war.
The policy is designed to deter a Chinese invasion and also discourage Taiwan from formally declaring independence -- something Beijing regards as a red line.
Biden's comments were welcomed by Taiwan, which has pushed to bolster international alliances to protect itself from Beijing.
"The US government has demonstrated, through actual actions, their rock solid support for Taiwan," Presidential Office spokesperson Xavier Chang said in a statement yesterday.
But Beijing warned that Biden's comments risked "damaging Sino-US relations," warning Washington on Friday to "act and speak cautiously on the Taiwan issue."
"China has no room for compromise on issues involving its core interests," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing.
Biden made a similar pledge in August during an interview with ABC, insisting that the US would always defend key allies, including Taiwan, despite the withdrawal from Afghanistan in the face of the victorious Taliban.
The White House subsequently told reporters on both occasions that US policy on Taiwan "has not changed."
Richard McGregor, senior fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute, said the Biden administration had "firmly restated" its commitment to strategic ambiguity.
"I suspect Biden was not trying to announce any change. So it was either loose language, or perhaps a slightly harder tone, deliberately adopted because of the way Beijing has increased the tempo of its military harassment of Taiwan recently," he told AFP.
China has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views Taiwan as already sovereign and not part of "one China."
At Thursday's live town hall, Biden was also asked by an audience member whether the United States would be able to keep up with China's rapid military development.
Biden responded with "Yes."
"Don't worry about whether... they're going to be more powerful," he said. "China, Russia and the rest of the world knows we have the most powerful military in the history of the world."
Biden repeated his position that he does not want "to start a new Cold War with China."
But he warned: "I just want to make China understand that we are not going to step back."
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