Baltimore —The United States would defend Taiwan if the
island were attacked by China. President Joe Biden said Thursday, a declaration
welcomed by the democratic island that risks fury from Beijing.
اضافة اعلان
Authoritarian China regards self-ruled
Taiwan as its own
territory. It has vowed to one day seize the island by force if needed.
Beijing's saber-rattling has ramped up in recent years,
exacerbating fears the island of 23 million people could become a major global
flashpoint.
Biden was asked whether the US would come to Taiwan's
defense at a CNN town hall 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.
The policy is designed to deter a Chinese invasion and
discourage Taiwan from formally declaring independence, something Beijing
regards as a red line.
On Friday, 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.
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.
Biden said the United States made a "sacred
commitment" to defend NATO allies in Canada and Europe, and it's the
"same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with Taiwan."
The White House subsequently told reporters on both
occasions that US policy on Taiwan "has not changed."
- Military competition -
At Thursday's live town hall, Biden was also asked by an
audience member whether the United States would 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 know we
have the most powerful military in the history of the world."
But Biden expressed concern that rival countries may
"engage in activities where they may make a serious mistake."
He referred to his longtime relationship with Chinese
President Xi Jinping. He repeated his position that he did 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."
China has ramped up economic, diplomatic, and military
pressure on Taiwan ever since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who
views Taiwan as already sovereign and not part of a "one China."
The military pressure has escalated in the last year, with
China sending waves of fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers into Taiwan's
air defense zone.
According to an AFP tally, more than 800 flights have been
made into the zone since September last year -- 170 just this month.
Defending Taiwan, one of Asia's most progressive
democracies, has become a rare bipartisan issue in Washington's otherwise
deeply polarised landscape.
Biden's comments also come in the wake of a Financial Times
report that China has tested a state-of-the-art hypersonic missile with nuclear
capacity that flew around the planet before landing, albeit not on target.
The United States and Russia are racing to develop their own
hypersonic weapons, which are more difficult to defend against than existing
ballistic missile arsenals.
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