US President Joe Biden’s trip to South Korea and Japan last month has strengthened the relationship with such US allies as Japan, South Korea, Australia and India to checkmate China’s hegemony in the Indo-Pacific region. The key plank of his policy platform is that the US would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan.
Did he misspeak? Not really.
Biden had on three previous occasions mentioned the US policy of military intervention on behalf of Taiwan. His trip to Asia provides an opportunity to showcase such a policy on the international stage.
Such a policy is not new. In December 2017, under the aegis of Mike Pompeo, who was CIA director and then-US secretary of state, then-US president Donald Trump’s administration unveiled the National Security Strategy, which defined China as the US’ principal threat and adversary, and clearly reaffirmed the US’ defense commitment to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).
Trump placed great emphasis on “peace through strength” and recognized the importance of raising US military capabilities. Thus, the “2018 National Defense Authorization Act” expanded the US naval fleet from 274 to 355 ships, and enlisted an additional 350,000 naval officers and sailors.
“The US would continue to maintain its military capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region, and would possibly dispatch the Third Fleet from the Eastern Pacific for reinforcement,” then-US Navy chief Admiral John Richardson said on board the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan in Yokosuka, Japan, on Dec. 19, 2017.
Biden’s policy toward Taiwan shows a great deal of continuity with his predecessor’s. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) sees the US as a declining power, he has been emboldened to discard former leader Deng Xiaoping’s (鄧小平) “hiding and biding” strategy, and challenge the Pax Americana. To counter Chinese hegemony, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has continued Trump’s tougher approach to China.
On Jan. 23 last year, three days after Biden’s inauguration, a US aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt entered the South China Sea to promote “freedom of the seas.” On the same day, the US Department of State called on China to refrain from ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbors, including Taiwan.
It said that US commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and that it would continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining “sufficient self-defense capability,” as outlined in the three Joint Communiques, the TRA and the “six assurances.”
Biden’s support for Taiwan is unmistakable. Ukraine’s ability to resist and rebuff Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression is highly instructive. Prior to foreign assistance, Taiwan needs to do all sorts of things to protect itself.
Taiwan’s top challenge is to cope with Chinese espionage and disinformation campaigns. China’s intelligence and “united front” agencies have resorted to money, sex and other incentives to obtain Taiwanese military, political and technological information. Taiwan’s C41SR and information regarding the US weapons systems sold to Taiwan might have been compromised.
Former AIT director William Stanton warned in a public speech that leaks of such information would not only damage Taiwan’s defense, but would also undermine the US’ willingness to provide high-tech weapons to Taiwan. Hence, how to cope with Chinese spies, local collaborators and the “fifth column” who engage in disinformation operations are Taiwan’s major national security challenges.
Parris Chang is professor emeritus of political science at Penn State University and former deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council.
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