US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan signals Joe Biden has not changed Taiwan policy as president prepares for call with Xi Jinping
- Sullivan says the president is committed to the policy of strategic ambiguity despite his comments that US would come to the island’s defence if attacked
- Comments seen as attempt to ease tensions after reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to visit Taiwan angered Beijing
Sullivan’s comments at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado were made ahead of an all-important phone call between the US President and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the coming days.
“When it comes to Taiwan generally … every administration’s Taiwan policy, both its declaratory policy and its actual policy, has contained multitudes,” Sullivan said, explaining why some of Biden’s comments appear contradictory.
“Somehow that ambiguity, that creative tension, within the policy has allowed us to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait for multiple decades.”
The presidents of the world’s two largest economies are expected to discuss a range of topics, ranging from a four-year trade war to tension over the Taiwan Strait to China’s stance on Ukraine.