Joe Biden reaffirms US commitment to rescue Taiwan

Posted on Oct 22, 2021, 10:54 AM

Joe Biden hinted Thursday that the United States was ready to defend Taiwan militarily, in the event of an attack from China, which considers the island to be part of its territory. Words that contradict the traditional American line of conduct, which is to support the self-defense efforts of the island considered to be rebellious by Beijing, without however explicitly committing to intervene in the event of a Chinese attack.

“Yes, we have a commitment in that direction,” said the American president during an exchange with voters in Baltimore broadcast on CNN. Words that could not go unnoticed while the tensions between Beijing and Taipei are particularly tense. China has, in recent weeks, made several military incursions into Taiwanese airspace. To the point that several senior officials in Taiwan have multiplied alarmist statements, repeatedly referring to the risk of an armed confrontation.

An American policy of “strategic ambiguity”

A White House spokesman rushed Thursday to defuse the effects Joe Biden’s words could have in Beijing. “We will continue to support Taiwan’s self-defense and we will continue to oppose any unilateral change in the status quo,” he explained, hinting that there was nothing new under the sun.

It is therefore to be expected that in the future the United States – which recognized the People’s Republic of China in 1979 and thus officially severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan – will continue its so-called policy of strategic ambiguity. That is, to provide arms to Taiwan for its self-defense without explicitly committing to intervene militarily in the event of conflict.

These arms sales intended to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense are regular. The latest, but also the first under the presidency of Joe Biden, was thus authorized in August. A sale that did not fail to irritate Beijing which, on the one hand, regularly threatens to use force in the event that the island formally proclaims its independence and, on the other, reaffirms, through the voice of the president Xi Jinping, his desire to achieve “peaceful” reunification.

Remote duel between Chinese and American ambassadors

Each therefore seems to look at each other and accuse the other of being at the origin of the tensions, even if it means maintaining a dialogue of the deaf. During a press conference held the same day, Chinese Ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, stressed that his country was more in a position of defense than aggressor. “We are fighting to maintain our sovereignty and our territorial integrity,” he said. Adding: “We are not the troublemaker. On the contrary, some countries, the United States in particular, are taking dangerous measures leading directly to a dangerous situation in Taiwan. “

Words that undoubtedly resonated in the ears of Joe Biden but also of Nicholas Burns, the next American ambassador in Beijing, who had declared on Wednesday that China should not be trusted in Taiwan. And recommended to sell more weapons to the island to strengthen its defenses.

Asked about these relations with the Chinese leader, Joe Biden dismissed the idea that Washington and Beijing had entered a “cold war”. “I spoke and spent more time with Xi Jinping than with any other world leader. This is why you hear people say that Biden wants to start a new cold war with China. I don’t want a cold war with China. I want China to understand that we are not going to back down and change our views. “

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