Biden says U.S. would intervene militarily in Taiwan if necessary
President Joe Biden said Monday the United States would intervene militarily in Taiwan if necessary, in an apparent shift away from the U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity” that quickly ratcheted up tensions with China.
The comment — not the first instance of Biden’s blunt rhetoric on the world stage causing confusion and geopolitical uncertainty — suggested a willingness from Biden to go further in defending Taiwan than he has in aiding Ukraine, which has received tens of billions of dollars in arms and intelligence assistance but not the direct intervention of U.S. or NATO troops.
“You didn’t want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons,” a reporter said to Biden during the president’s joint news conference in Tokyo with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. “Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?”
“Yes,” Biden responded, adding: “That’s the commitment we made.”
But he said an invasion of the island by China was highly unlikely.
“My expectation is it will not happen,” Biden said.
“It will not be attempted.”
Biden made similar comments at a televised town hall in October, only to have the White House walk them back. The U.S. has made a commitment to provide Taiwan the means to defend itself but — just as there is no NATO obligation for the U.S. to defend Ukraine — has no
treaty to defend it militarily.
Before making the comments, Biden said U.S. policy toward Taiwan “has not changed at all.”
“We agree with the One China policy,” Biden said, referring to the longstanding position of recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the country’s sole legal government. “But the idea that — that it can be taken by force … is just not appropriate. It will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine. And so, it’s a burden that is even stronger.”
But he also warned China against an invasion and said it was important for the U.S. and other nations to send a signal to Beijing by upholding sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia has to pay a long-term price for that in terms of the sanctions. It’s not just about Ukraine,” Biden said, adding that, if Russia were not made to suffer long-term consequences, “what signal does that send to China about the cost of attempting to take Taiwan by force?”
The comments drew a swift response from Beijing. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin expressed “strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition” to Biden’s comments.
“China has no room for compromise or concessions on issues involving China’s core interests such as sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said. “China will take firm action to safeguard its sovereignty and security interests, and we will do what we say.”
For its part, the Taiwanese government said in a statement that it was grateful to the U.S. for “reaffirming its rock-solid commitment to Taiwan.”
When asked Monday about any contingency plans to provide military support for Taiwan, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III declined to discuss specifics and insisted official policy has not changed.
“As the president said, our One China policy has not changed,” he said in a news conference at the Pentagon, where he was joined by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.
“He (Biden) reiterated that policy and our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.” That includes, Austin said, the U.S. pledge to supply Taiwan with the “means” to defend itself in case of attack.
For decades, Washington has pursued a policy of “strategic ambiguity” that does not spell out exactly what the U.S. would do if the democratically selfgoverned island — which China claims as its rightful territory — were attacked.