US officials walk back Biden’s remarks on Taiwan, say ‘strategic ambiguity’ policy has not changed
- After Biden tells CNN ‘we have a commitment’ to come to Taiwan’s defence, White House says ‘president was not announcing any change’ in policy
- ‘Nobody wants to see cross-strait issues come to blows, and certainly not President Biden,’ US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says
“There is no change in our policy,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing, as she fielded numerous questions about whether Biden’s comments signalled an end to Washington’s long-held position of “strategic ambiguity”.
Asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper whether the US would come to Taiwan’s defence if mainland forces attacked, Biden said: “Yes, we have a commitment to do that.”
The US does not maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but is required by the Taiwan Relations Act to support the self-governed island’s efforts to defend itself, including through arms sales. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province, destined for eventual reunification with the mainland, by force if necessary.
The Taiwan Relations Act does not, however, include a commitment to intervene militarily if China seeks to annex Taiwan by force. The US has for decades followed a policy of “strategic ambiguity”, in which it does not indicate whether it would take military action in Taiwan’s defence.
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China urges US President Joe Biden to act cautiously over Taiwan, warns ‘no room for compromise’
Psaki said that the US would continue to abide by the principles of the act, reiterating one of its clauses that Washington “would regard any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific and of grave concern to the United States”.