New direction of US policy: Biden would defend Taiwan against China

New direction of US politics
Biden would defend Taiwan against China

Will the US intervene militarily if China tries to conquer Taiwan? This question is often deliberately left open in Washington’s policy of “strategic ambiguity”. When a citizen asks Joe Biden about it, the US president gives a surprisingly clear answer.

According to President Joe Biden, the US would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. The US government has an “obligation” to do this, Biden said in an interview with CNN in the evening (local time). “I don’t want a cold war with China. I just want China to understand that we will not resign and that we will not change our views,” said the US President. One shouldn’t worry about Washington’s military strength because China, Russia and the rest of the world all know that the US is the strongest military in the world.

The communist leadership in Beijing regards Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic and expects reunification soon. If this does not happen, China threatens a military conquest if necessary. The US government, on the other hand, is legally obliged to provide Taiwan with the means of self-defense – which so far has mainly meant arms deliveries and has led to a policy of “strategic ambiguity”: The question of military assistance in the event of an attack was deliberately left open.

At a town hall event in Baltimore, a citizen asked about Biden’s position on the Taiwan issue. CNN host Anderson Cooper asked Biden, turning to China, “Are you saying that the United States would defend Taiwan if it tried to attack?” Biden replied, “Yes, we have an obligation to do that.” Such a military declaration of support by the USA has so far been reserved for its close allies Japan and South Korea, where the US armed forces also have a significant military presence.

Tensions are stronger than they have been in 40 years

The leadership of the island state welcomed the statements. “Since Biden’s inauguration, the US government has consistently demonstrated its solid support for Taiwan through practical steps,” said a presidential spokesman in Taipei. Taiwan is committed to its self-defense and wants to work with like-minded countries to contribute to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and the Taiwan Strait.

Military tensions between Beijing and Taipei have been increasing for years. In the past few months, incidents in which Chinese fighter jets penetrated the Taiwanese air defense space increased. In the days around the Chinese national holiday on October 1 alone, there were 150 such combat flight missions. According to the Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, tensions are higher than they have been in more than 40 years.

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