The Biden White House on Monday “clarified” comments made by Biden, saying that no policy had changed after he falsely claimed America would “militarily” defend Taiwan on the same day.
Speaking with the Japanese Prime Minister in Tokyo on Monday, Biden attacked China during his first visit to Asia, saying that they were “flirting with danger” by conducting fly-bys and military exercises and manoeuvres in the Taiwan Strait.
Biden said that the United States had “made a commitement” to protect Taiwan, and while they support the One China Policy, “that does not mean that China has the ability, has the jurisidiction to go in and use force to take over Taiwan.” He argued that such a move to invade Taiwan would not be attempted, especially if the international community makes it clear it would be condemned.
However, when asked point blank by a reporter if he was willing to “get involved militarily to defend Taiwan,” Biden answered in the affirmative.
“That’s the commitment we made,” he said. “The idea that it could be taken by force, taken by force, it’s just not appropriate. It will dislocate the entire region and it’ll be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine. So it’s a burden that is even stronger.”
Q: "Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?"
President Biden: "Yes. It's a commitment we made." pic.twitter.com/2Lh3B7QVEX
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 23, 2022
Unsurprisingly, the Chinese government was not pleased with what appeared to be a clear move away from the policy of strategic ambiguity by the United States regarding Taiwan into a commitment to defend the island nation from attack.
Biden’s comments were also in sharp contrast to his actions to help Ukraine, with a strong suggestion in his answer that they would go to war over it.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the Chinese government “expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the remarks by the US side.” Given that they consider Taiwan to be an issue “concerning China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and other core interests,” then “China has no room for compromise.”
Wenbin said that the Biden administration should “speak and act with prudence” when it comes to Taiwan, to avoid sending any “wrong signal” to supporters of Taiwanese independence, “lest it should seriously undermine peace across the Taiwan Strait and China-US relations.”
According to CNN, several “top administration officials” were completely caught off-guard by Biden’s remarks. However, following the comments from Biden on Taiwan, the White House appeared to roll back his comments, and pretend that there was no suggestion of any policy shift whatsoever.
“As the President said, our policy has not changed,” a White House official said. He reiterated our One China policy and our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also reiterated our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself,” the official said.
In the official statement released by the White House, Biden, along with Prime Minister Kishida, reportedly “stated that their basic positions on Taiwan remain unchanged, and reiterated the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element in security and prosperity in the international community.”
Earlier this year, Biden seemed to suggest the United States may launch a chemical weapons attack on Russia and told troops stationed in Poland that they were going to Ukraine. He also called for regime change in Russia, saying it was impossible for Putin to continue leading after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Biden later claimed that none of this happened, though the White House repeatedly corrected its executive when he made the verbal blunders.
