Biden says US troops would defend Taiwan from attack by Beijing

Name: US-Taiwan trade talks prompt Beijing warning, ‘economic coercion’ on agenda
Uploaded: 2022-09-19T03:30:43.000Z
Duration: 2 min 24 s
Description: US-Taiwan trade talks prompt Beijing warning, ‘economic coercion’ on agenda

US president affirms that American forces would protect the self-ruled island in the event of an ‘unprecedented attack’

He tells news programme the US has a one-China policy and is ‘not encouraging’ Taiwanese independence

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Following US President Joe Biden’s interview with 60 Minutes, the White House said that US policy on Taiwan had not changed. Photo: AFP

Jack Lau

Published: 11:30am, 19 Sep 2022Updated: 2:30pm, 19 Sep 2022

US President Joe Biden has said American troops would defend Taiwan if Beijing were to attack the island – his clearest statement yet on the issue.

In a 60 Minutes interview that aired on Sunday, Biden was asked whether the US would defend the island. He responded: “Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.”

He also said “yes” when asked to clarify whether that meant “US forces, US men and women” would defend Taiwan in case of an attack from Beijing.

The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which governs US ties with Taiwan, requires the United States to ensure the self-ruled island has the resources for self-defence and to prevent any unilateral change of status in Taiwan by Beijing. But it does not require the US to defend the self-ruled island militarily.

Washington has historically been strategically ambiguous about the United States’ role if Beijing were to attack the island. The strategic ambiguity allows Washington to keep ties with Beijing and to deter attacks on the island.

Mainland China and Taiwan split in 1949 at the end of a civil war when the Nationalist Kuomintang was defeated by Communist Party forces and fled to Taipei.

02:24

US-Taiwan trade talks prompt Beijing warning, ‘economic coercion’ on agenda

Beijing sees the island as part of China and has never ruled out the use of force to take control of it. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. Washington, however, opposes any attempt to take the island by force.

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