US President Joe Biden yesterday vowed that US forces would defend Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese attack in his strongest statement to date on the issue.
Beijing is already “flirting with danger,” Biden said following talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, in which the pair agreed to monitor Chinese naval activity and joint Chinese-Russian exercises.
Asked if Washington was willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan, he replied: “Yes.”
Photo: AP
“That’s the commitment we made,” Biden said. “We agreed with the ‘one China’ policy, we signed on to it ... but the idea that it can be taken by force is just not appropriate, it would dislocate the entire region and would be another action similar to Ukraine.”
Biden directly linked the fates of Ukraine and Taiwan, saying that sanctions on Russia must exact a “long-term price,” because otherwise “what signal does that send to China about the cost of attempting to take Taiwan by force?”
He warned that Beijing was “flirting with danger right now by flying so close and all the maneuvers undertaken,” referring to a growing number of Chinese sorties, naval exercises and other power projections in the Taiwan Strait.
Photo: Reuters
In Washington, the White House said that Biden was not diverging from the US’ official “one China” policy, which includes the commitment to “provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself.”
“Our policy has not changed,” an official said.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) thanked Biden and the White House for their “rock solid” commitment to Taiwan.
The threat China poses to security in the Taiwan Strait is of great concern to the international community, Ou told reporters, adding that Taiwan’s determination to defend its freedom and democracy has never changed.
In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said that “no one should underestimate the firm resolve, staunch will and strong ability of the Chinese people in defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“China has no room for compromise or concession,” Wang said.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK predicted that Biden’s comments would spark debate, as they appear to contradict the long-running US policy of “strategic ambiguity” toward Taiwan.
Biden made similar comments in October last year when asked during a CNN town hall whether the US would come to Taiwan’s defense, responding: “Yes, we have a commitment to do that.”
In August last year, he listed Taiwan among nations the US has a commitment to defend in comments to ABC News.
In both instances, the White House made statements shortly afterward saying that US policy toward Taiwan had not changed.
Meanwhile, Kishida called for stability in the Taiwan Strait and said that Tokyo was committed to boosting its defense spending, a sensitive subject in a nation with constitutional limits on its military.
“Japan will fundamentally strengthen its defense capacity, and to back that up will significantly increase its defense spending,” Kishida told a news conference held with Biden. “We do not rule out any options, including [acquiring] the capacity to counterattack.”
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS