Biden vows US will defend Taiwan

Veers from policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’

WASHINGTON: The United States would defend Taiwan if the island were attacked by China, President Joe Biden said on Thursday, a declaration welcomed by the democratic island that risks fury from Beijing.

Authoritarian China regards selfruled Taiwan as its own territory and 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.

At a CNN town hall, Mr Biden was asked whether the US would come to Taiwan’s defence if China invaded. “Yes,” he responded. “We have a commitment to that.”

Mr Biden’s statement was at odds with the long-held US policy known as “strategic ambiguity”, where Washington helps build Taiwan’s defences but does not explicitly promise to come to the island’s help.

The policy is designed to deter a Chinese invasion and also discourage Taiwan from formally declaring independence, something Beijing regards as a red line.

Mr Biden’s comments were welcomed yesterday 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.

Mr Biden made a similar pledge in August, insisting the US would always defend key allies, including Taiwan, despite the withdrawal from Afghanistan in the face of the victorious Taliban.

He 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”.

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 said.

China has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views Taiwan as a sovereign nation.

Military pressure has escalated in the last year, with China sending waves of fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers into Taiwan’s air defence zone.

Mr Biden was also asked whether the United States would be able to keep up with China’s military development.

“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.”