US President Joe Biden on Saturday affirmed his willingness to protect the US’ allies and reiterated that peace in the Taiwan Strait should be upheld, as Washington again called on Beijing to restrain itself after it conducted two-day military drills around Taiwan.
“I’ve always been willing to use force when required to protect our nation, our allies, our core interests. When anyone targets American troops, we will deliver justice to them,” Biden said in a speech to cadets graduating from the US Military Academy in West Point, New York.
He touted US security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, including the AUKUS security pact with Australia and the UK, trilateral cooperation with Japan and South Korea, and recent engagement with Japan and the Philippines.
Photo: Reuters
The US also elevated the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Australia, India and Japan to support a “free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Biden said.
“We’re standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
Thanks to US military forces, the country is able to defend its values “by standing up to tyrants,” he said.
“Anyone who thinks they can threaten us, think again,” he added.
On the same day as Biden’s address, the US Department of State issued a statement to “strongly urge Beijing to act with restraint” after its drills around Taiwan.
After President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on Monday, Beijing said his speech was an attempt to promote Taiwanese independence, in particular his statement that Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are not subordinate to one another.
On Thursday and Friday, China conducted a large-scale military exercise, codenamed “Joint Sword-2024A,” around Taiwan, sparking concern and condemnation among the international community.
The US was “deeply concerned” about the military drills in the Strait and around Taiwan, US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said.
“We are monitoring PRC activities closely and coordinating with allies and partners regarding our shared concerns,” Miller said.
Beijing is “using a normal, routine, and democratic transition as an excuse for military provocations,” he said, adding that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait “is critical for regional and global security and prosperity.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement yesterday thanked Biden and the US government for supporting Taiwan.
At a time when democracies around the globe are facing challenges, like-minded partners have unanimously demanded that China exercise restraint, stop coercing Taiwan and cease any actions that undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said.
The international community would not approve of Beijing’s attempts to blatantly interfere with Taipei’s democratic process, and would consider them provocative actions that aim to disrupt the “status quo,” it said.
The ministry called on China to resume exchanges and dialogue with Taiwan based on the principles of equality and dignity, and to jointly safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Meanwhile, a group of US representatives, led by Republican Michael McCaul, who chairs the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, yesterday arrived in Taipei.
The delegation includes Republicans Young Kim, Joe Wilson and Andy Barr, and Democrats Jimmy Panetta and Chrissy Houlahan, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement.
Their four-day visit to Taiwan is part of a trip to the wider Indo-Pacific region, the AIT said.
The six representatives would be the first group of serving US officials to meet with Lai after his inauguration and China’s two-day drills.
“I think it’s very important that we show our strong support for Taiwan. I think it is a deterrent,” McCaul told NBC News before arriving in Taiwan.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS