Biden Says U.S. Would be Willing to Intervene Militarily to Defend Taiwan
SEOUL — President Biden said Monday that the U.S. would defend Taiwan if it was attacked by mainland China, while insisting that America's policy toward the island had not changed.
Biden, asked at a press conference in Tokyo if the U.S. would intervene military to defend Taiwan, said, "that's the commitment we made." Speaking alongside Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, he added that the U.S. maintains a "one China policy," recognizing Beijing as the government of China, but said that the idea that Taiwan can be "just taken by force ... is just not appropriate."
China considers the self-ruled island part of its territory, and its Foreign Ministry swiftly rejected Biden's remarks as interference in its internal affairs.
"When it comes to issues related to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and other core interests," ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters, "there is no room for China to compromise or make concessions."
The White House walked back similar remarks by Biden last year, which appeared to undercut America's long-standing policy of "strategic ambiguity," that is, not telegraphing how Washington might respond to an invasion of Taiwan.
Story by Anthony Kuhn, posted on NPR
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