Biden sparks fresh confusion over US policy on Taiwan
WASHINGTON/SYDNEY: US President Joe Biden reignited confusion about his administration’s approach towards Taiwan hours after a lengthy virtual summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Speaking to reporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Biden said Taiwan “makes its own decisions,” and that the self-governing island is “independent”.
Hours later, Biden waded back into the issue, saying “we are not encouraging independence” and emphasising again that historic US policy towards the island democracy remains in place.
“We’re not going to change our policy at all,” Biden told reporters. “We’re encouraging them to do exactly what the Taiwan act requires,” he added, an apparent reference to the Taiwan Relations Act governing American policy. “That’s what we’re doing. Let them make up their mind. Let them make up their minds, period - Taiwan.”
Biden’s choice of words is likely to raise alarms in Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory and has threatened to invade if it seeks independence. Biden had earlier assured Xi in their talks that he supports a “one China” policy and isn’t changing US strategy, according to a White House statement.
Separately, China and the US have agreed to ease restrictions on each other’s journalists amid a slight relaxation of tensions between the two sides.
The official China Daily newspaper on Wednesday said the agreement was reached ahead of Tuesday’s virtual summit between Xi and Biden.
Oz looks to ring-fence 63 sensitive tech from China
Australia on Wednesday announced measures to ringfence dozens of sensitive technologies from foreign interference, stepping up efforts to safeguard against “national security risks” from China and others.
PM Scott Morrison unveiled a list of 63 “critical technologies” to be promoted and protected at an online forum in Sydney - a step towards limiting what government, industry and universities can and cannot share with foreign counterparts.
The list includes 5G communications, quantum technologies - which are based on the physics of subatomic particles - artificial intelligence, advanced magnets, 3D printing, drones and vaccines. Items on the list will not be automatically banned for export or proscribed, but may be subject to “additional risk management”, including measures to stop “unwanted tech transfer”, Morrison told an Australian Strategic Policy Institute forum.