President Biden has reaffirmed that US troops would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack by China, Biden’s clearest recent statement. it has gone as far as the United States would go to provide military support to Taiwan.
In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday evening, Biden told host Scott Pelley that the United States would defend Taiwan “if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.” China claims Taiwan, a self-governing democracy home to 23 million people, as its own territory and has said it could one day use force to take control of the island.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine more than six months ago, Biden has repeatedly stressed that US military forces would not fight Russian troops on Ukrainian soil. Pelley pressed Biden on whether the situation would be different in the event of an attack on Taiwan.
“So, unlike Ukraine, to be clear, sir, would American forces – American men and women – defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion?” Pelley asked.
“Yes,” Biden replied.
The interview is the latest of several occasions in which Biden has said the United States would come to Taiwan’s military defense if China attacks. Each time, White House officials emphasized that his comments did not represent a change in US policy.
Taiwan’s foreign minister said on August 9 that China was using drills launched in protest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to prepare for an invasion. (Video: Reuters)
A Biden administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue, pointed to remarks the president made in May, when he told reporters that the practice of strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan is maintained At the time, he did not elaborate and did not explicitly say that he would send US troops to Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
“He also made it clear then that our Taiwan policy has not changed,” the official said. “That remains true.”
A State Department representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
The “60 Minutes” segment wrongly claimed that US policy since 1979 has recognized Taiwan as part of China. Under the US “one China policy”, the US government under various administrations has for decades recognized Beijing’s view without taking a position on Taiwan’s sovereign status.
Under the Taiwan Relations Act, which was signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, the United States agreed to provide Taiwan with weapons to defend itself and “maintain the ability of the United States to resist any use of force or other forms of coercion. this would endanger the security, or the social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan.” The language neither guarantees nor rules out the possibility of military intervention, although the United States has long practiced “strategic ambiguity” when it comes to what it would do.
In the “60 Minutes” interview, Biden appeared to be referring to the Taiwan Relations Act when asked what Chinese President Xi Jinping should know about Biden’s commitment to Taiwan.
“We stand by what we signed a long time ago,” Biden told Pelley. “And that there is a one-China policy, and Taiwan makes its own judgments about its independence. We don’t move, we don’t encourage them to be independent. That’s their decision.”
Tensions between the United States and China, as well as between China and Taiwan, have risen in recent months. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Biden sent an unofficial delegation of former U.S. defense and national security officials to Taiwan, an effort to show that America’s commitment to Taiwan “remains strong,” said a administration official at the time.
On August 7, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers denounced China’s military escalation in response to a recent visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). (Video: The Washington Post)
Last month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) traveled with a congressional delegation to Taipei, becoming the first House speaker to visit Taiwan since Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) it did in 1997. There, the delegation met with Taiwanese. President Tsai Ing-wen and Pelosi repeatedly affirmed the United States’ “commitment” and “enduring friendship” with Taiwan.
US lawmakers visit Taiwan after Pelosi’s trip angers China
The visit angered Beijing. Under the Chinese Communist Party, Beijing has waged a decades-long campaign of global pressure to diplomatically isolate Taiwan’s democratically elected government, poaching its diplomatic partners and fiercely opposing exchanges between Taipei and foreign officials.
China conducted expanded military drills near Taiwan before and after Pelosi’s visit, calling them a warning to “provocateurs” who challenge Beijing’s claims on Taiwan. Beijing also imposed sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family, and canceled military dialogues and suspended climate talks with the United States.
Christian Shepherd contributed to this report.