By Josh Boak, Aamer Madhani
Biden, at a news conference in Tokyo, said “yes” when asked if he was willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if China invaded. “That’s the commitment we made,” he added.
The US traditionally has avoided making such an explicit security guarantee to Taiwan, with which it no longer has a mutual defence treaty. The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which has governed US relations with the island, does not require the US to step in militarily to defend Taiwan if China invades, but makes it American policy to ensure Taiwan has the resources to defend itself and to prevent any unilateral change of status in Taiwan by Beijing.
Biden’s comments are likely to draw a sharp response from the mainland, which has claimed Taiwan to be a rogue province.
Speaking alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden said any effort by China to use force against Taiwan would “just not be appropriate”, adding that it “will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine.”
China has stepped up its military provocations against democratic Taiwan in recent years aimed at intimidating it into accepting Beijing’s demands to unify with the communist mainland.
“They’re already flirting with danger right now by flying so close and all the manoeuvres that are undertaken,” Biden said of China.
Under the “one China” policy, the US recognises Beijing as the government of China and doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, the US maintains unofficial contacts including a de facto embassy in Taipei, the capital, and supplies military equipment for the island’s defence.
Biden said it is his “expectation” that China would not try to seize Taiwan by force, but he said that assessment “depends upon just how strong the world makes clear that that kind of action is going to result in long-term disapprobation by the rest of the community.”