U.S. President Joe Biden said U.S. forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, his most explicit statement so far on the issue. According to the American leader, if Beijing violates sanctions imposed by a coalition of countries against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, it will damage the investment climate.
When asked if American forces would defend Taiwan, Biden gave an affirmative answer
Asked in a CBS 60 Minutes interview broadcast on Sunday whether U.S. forces would defend the democratically governed island claimed by China, he replied: “Yes, if in fact, there was an unprecedented attack.” Although there is no indication that China has actively supported the Russian war effort with weapons sales, Biden said he told Xi that violating the sanctions would be a “gigantic mistake.”
Asked to clarify if he meant that unlike in Ukraine, U.S. forces – American men and women – would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, Biden replied: “Yes.”
“I called President Xi — not to threaten at all, just to say to him… that if you think Americans and others will continue to invest in China, based on your violating the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia, I think you’re making a gigantic mistake,” CBS quoted Biden as saying. “Thus far, there’s no indication they put forward weapons or other things that Russia has wanted,” he added.
Biden requested Russian President Vladimir Putin to forgo the use of nuclear weapons
Dismissing the notion that the Chinese-Russian alliance effectively means the United States is fighting a new kind of Cold War, Biden requested Russian President Vladimir Putin to forgo the use of nuclear weapons in the wake of setbacks in Ukraine.
Putting Putin under pressure from nationalists at home to regain the initiative, Ukraine’s military drove back Russian forces in a lightning rout in the northeast of the country this week. Resulting in the ongoing devastation of cities and towns across much of the country, Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbor Ukraine on February 24.
The United States has long stuck to a policy of “strategic ambiguity”
The United States has long stuck to a policy of “strategic ambiguity” and not making clear whether it would respond militarily to an attack on Taiwan. Asked to comment, a White House spokesperson said U.S. policy towards Taiwan had not changed.
“The President has said this before, including in Tokyo earlier this year. He also made clear then that our Taiwan policy hasn’t changed. That remains true,” the spokesperson said. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry expressed its thanks to Biden for his reaffirming the “U.S. government’s rock-solid security commitment to Taiwan”.
Taiwan will continue to strengthen its self-defence capabilities and deepen the close security partnership between Taiwan and the United States, it said in a statement.