Editorial | Joe Biden’s loose talk complicates tensions in the Taiwan Strait
- His pledge – for the fourth time in just two years – to militarily intervene should China invade the island can no longer be dismissed as the ramblings of a 79-year-old man; words matter, none more so than those of the US president
Four times now President Joe Biden has said the United States would come to the defence of Taiwan if China invaded. Four times Washington has walked back his remarks, insisting long-standing American policy on the self-ruled island, based on the one-China principle, has not changed.
But the interpretation that the 79-year-old president has misspoken in one of his trademark gaffes, or that he has been misinterpreted, is wearing thin. It is time to come to terms with the reality the repeated statement is deliberate, and marks a significant shift on the key issue underpinning the China-US relationship.
In a television interview on the weekend, Biden said American troops would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack by the People’s Liberation Army. This followed similar remarks in May and twice last year.
It leaves no room for doubt US policy has moved beyond the tactic of using the island as a high-stakes bargaining chip. It is now shaping as an obstacle to China’s rise.
It is not clear why Biden repeated the commitment so explicitly at this time. It goes well beyond a pledge to support the island’s self-defence under the Taiwan Relations Act.
No mention is made in the act of military intervention should the PLA invade, as Beijing has threatened if Taiwan declares independence. Such ambiguity has been a hallmark of US policy.
