US President Joe Biden reiterates that US would defend Taiwan in Chinese attack

US President Joe Biden reiterates that US would defend Taiwan in Chinese attack

2022-09-19

In an interview on the CBS program 60 Minutes, U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated that the U.S. would come to Taiwan’s defense if China decides to attack. The president answered affirmatively when asked to confirm that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be seen differently from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The White House has walked back the comments, but analysts say that Biden is trying to convey clear support for Taiwan, after some proposals in the recently passed Taiwan Policy Act were redacted or toned down.

During an interview on Sunday on the CBS program 60 Minutes, U.S. President Joe Biden was asked again about whether U.S. troops would defend Taiwan during a Chinese invasion attempt.

Scott Pelley
Journalist
Would U.S. forces defend the island?

Joe Biden
US President
Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.

Expressing clear U.S. intent to defend Taiwan, Biden was asked by the interviewer for clarification that the U.S. sees such a potential event as different from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Scott Pelley
Journalist
So, unlike Ukraine, to be clear, sir, U.S. forces, U.S. men and women would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion?

Joe Biden
US President
Yes.

Biden was also asked about whether Chinese leader Xi Jinping was aware of his stance.

Scott Pelley
Journalist
Does President Xi know about your commitment to Taiwan?

Joe Biden
US President
We agree with what we signed on to, a long time ago, and there’s a “one China” policy, and Taiwan makes their own judgments about their independence. We are not moving, we are not encouraging their independence, we’re not… that’s their decision.

Following the interview, the White House issued a statement saying that Washington’s position on Taiwan had not changed. However, Sunday’s interview is widely being seen as Biden’s clearest confirmation of U.S. troop commitment to Taiwan thus far.

Wang Chih-sheng
Cross-Strait Policy Association
Biden used this exclusive interview to send a clear message, in response to Chinese pressuring of Taiwan on the issue of unification. He clearly told the whole world that the U.S. won’t sit idly by while China, at some unspecified time in the future, attempts a military invasion of Taiwan. Taiwan’s future is for its 23 million people to decide, and Biden’s comments on the matter are clearly a slap in the face for China.

Lo Chih-cheng
DPP lawmaker
The U.S. is aware of China’s growing capabilities and ambitions toward Taiwan — it’s very clear. So in order to obstruct Chinese military aggression toward Taiwan, the U.S. has to adopt strategic clarity on the issue. However, in terms of exactly what the U.S. will do to help Taiwan, what it will do in the event of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait, or war, it will still adopt more ambiguous posturing.

The researcher believes that Biden has chosen this time specifically to reiterate support for Taiwan, to coincide with the recent passing of the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 in a Senate committee. He says Biden hopes to demonstrate U.S. commitment to Taiwan’s defense, at all levels of the U.S. government and military.