The US is not encouraging Taiwanese independence — it is up to Taiwan to decide, US President Joe Biden said late on Tuesday after generating confusion with a comment suggesting that Taiwan is “independent.”
Speaking with reporters in New Hampshire, where he was promoting his recently signed infrastructure law, Biden said he told Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in their virtual meeting on Monday that the US would abide by its Taiwan Relations Act.
Referring to Taiwan, he then said: “It’s independent. It makes its own decisions.”
Photo: Bloomberg
Biden later clarified as he was about to leave New Hampshire that “we [the US] are not encouraging independence.”
“We’re not going to change our policy at all,” he added.
Asked specifically about the “independent” comment, Biden said: “I said that they have to decide — they, Taiwan, not us.”
“We’re encouraging that they do exactly what the Taiwan act requires,” he said, likely referring to the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which has served as a cornerstone of the US’ Taiwan policy since official diplomatic ties were severed that year.
“That’s what we’re doing. Let them make up their mind. Period,” he said.
What part of the act Biden was referring to is unclear, as it does not mention Taiwanese independence or Taiwan deciding for itself on the issue of independence, something that Beijing has said it would not accept and would stop by force if necessary.
The comments came after Biden, in his meeting with Xi, reiterated his administration’s commitment to the “one China” policy, under which the US “acknowledges” that there is only one “China” across the Taiwan Strait and that the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing “China.”
Biden underscored that the US “strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo, or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” a readout of the meeting said.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting between Biden and Xi, a senior official in the US administration reiterated that the US does not support Taiwanese independence.
It was just the latest comment by Biden to cause confusion regarding the US’ China policy and whether Washington is changing long-standing positions.
Last month, Biden suggested that the US would defend Taiwan if it were attacked by China — something that Washington has always inferred, but had never said outright.
The White House later issued a statement saying that US policy on the issue had not changed.
Also on Tuesday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that US engagement with China would intensify to ensure that competition between them does not veer into conflict.
Sullivan said in a Brookings Institution Webinar that the two leaders had agreed that “we would look to begin to carry forward discussion on strategic stability.”
“President Biden did raise with President Xi the need for a strategic stability set of conversations... That that needs to be guided by the leaders and led by senior empowered teams on both sides that cut across security, technology and diplomacy,” Sullivan added.
“You will see at multiple levels an intensification of the engagement to ensure there are guardrails around this competition, so that it doesn’t veer off into conflict,” he said.
CALL FOR PEACE: Czech President Petr Pavel raised concerns about China’s military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and its ‘unfriendly action’ in the South China Sea The leaders of three diplomatic allies — Guatemala, Paraguay and Palau — on Tuesday voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN on the first day of the UN General Debate in New York. In his address during the 78th UN General Assembly, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr urged the UN and all parties involved in cross-strait issues to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution. “The well-being and prosperity of nations and their economies are intrinsically linked to global peace and stability,” he said. He also thanked partner nations such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the US for providing assistance
CROSS-STRAIT CONCERNS: At the same US Congress hearing, Mira Resnick said a US government shutdown could affect weapons sales and licenses to allies such as Taiwan A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be a “monster risk” for Beijing and likely to fail, while a military invasion would be extremely difficult, senior Pentagon officials told the US Congress on Tuesday. Growing worries of a conflict come as China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, holding large-scale war games simulating a blockade on the nation, while conducting near-daily warplane incursions and sending Chinese vessels around its waters. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said a blockade would be “a monster risk for the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” “It would likely not succeed, and it
IMPORTS: Fifty-four million imported eggs with a value of more than NT$200 million had to be destroyed, mostly because they expired in storage facilities Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) last night announced that he would resign from his post. Local media on Sunday reported that Chen had resigned due to controversy over the ministry’s egg import program. Later that same evening, the Executive Yuan said that Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) had asked the minister to stay on to resolve the issue. Chen Chi-chung last night made public his decision to resign on Facebook, saying that this time he would not be dissuaded. Chen Chi-chung earlier yesterday apologized for the furor surrounding the egg import program, but added that misinformation had made the problems worse. The government was
AMPHIBIOUS EXERCISES: The defense ministry said that it had detected 24 Chinese PLA Air Force planes entering Taiwan’s air defense zone over the previous 24 hours Chinese movements around Taiwan were “abnormal,” Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday, flagging recent amphibious exercises in addition to drills Taipei has observed in China’s Fujian Province. Taiwan has reported a rise in Chinese military activity over the past week as dozens of fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships, have operated around the nation. “Our initial analysis is that they are doing joint drills in September, including land, sea, air and amphibious,” Chiu told reporters at the legislature in Taipei. The “recent enemy situation is quite abnormal,” he said. The comments followed a statement from the
RSS