China on September 19, 2022 said it “lodged stern representations” with the United States after President Joe Biden committed in the clearest terms yet to “defend” Taiwan in the face of an attack.
In an interview on Sunday, Mr. Biden appeared to mark a shift in the U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity” on the question of defending Taiwan, which previous administrations had followed with the goal of both deterring China and discouraging Taiwan from pursuing outright independence.
Asked whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan, he said, “Yes, if in fact, there was an unprecedented attack.” Pressed on whether that would mean going beyond providing assistance as in the case of Ukraine, he said, “Yes”.
Mr. Biden also said the U.S. would not interfere on the question of whether Taiwan seeks to pursue independence, another shift from the standing position of discouraging Taiwanese independence in order to avoid precipitating a crisis with China. Beijing has said it would not rule out the use of force should any government in Taiwan declare formal independence. Administrations in Taiwan continue to favour maintaining the current status quo.
“This is the second time that Biden has said that we should let Taiwan decide whether it is independent...and that will be more worrisome to China than his statements that the U.S. will defend Taiwan if attacked,” observed Bonnie Glaser, Director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund, reacting to his comments on Twitter.
This marked the fourth instance of Mr. Biden appearing to signal a shift in “strategic ambiguity”. As in previous instances, the White House sought to subsequently play down his comments, claiming that U.S official policy remained unchanged.
That is not, however, how the remarks were seen in Beijing, which said the U.S. had “seriously violated” its past commitments to China and the three joint communiques, as well as “seriously breached the U.S. commitment of not supporting ‘Taiwan independence’ and sent seriously erroneous signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”
“In the meantime,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “we will never tolerate any activities aimed to split China and we reserve all options in taking necessary measures.” “Nobody should underestimate our strong resolve and will to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she added.
In the wake of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s August visit to Taiwan, Beijing launched unprecedented military drills surrounding the island as well as crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which the Chinese military has continued to do with regular frequency in the wake of the visit.
