President Joe Biden on Thursday said the United States would come to thedefence of Taiwan if the island were attacked by China, which considers itpart of its territory.
“Yes,” he responded when asked in a CNN town hall about defending Taiwan.
“We have a commitment to that.” Biden’s statement was at odds with thelong-held US policy known as “strategic ambiguity,” where Washington helpsbuild Taiwan’s defences but does not explicitly promise to come to theisland’s help.
In August, a Biden administration official had said that US policy onTaiwan had not changed after the US president appeared to suggest theUnited States would intervene if it were attacked.
A White House spokesperson said Biden at his town hall was not announcingany change in US policy and “there is no change in our policy”, butdeclined further comment when asked if Biden had misspoken.
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“The US defense relationship with Taiwan is guided by the Taiwan RelationsAct. We will uphold our commitment under the Act, we will continue tosupport Taiwan’s self-defense, and we will continue to oppose anyunilateral changes to the status quo,” the spokesperson said.
Taiwan’s presidential office, responding to Biden’s remarks, said theirposition remains the same, which is it will neither give in to pressure nor”rashly advance” when it gets support.
