Biden says US troops would defend Taiwan from attack by Beijing

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

Taiwan

Jack Lau

Published: 11:30am, 19 Sep 2022

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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.

Biden’s comment is the latest in a long US-China tussle over Taiwan

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.

Biden made a similar comment during a visit to Japan in May, when he answered in the affirmative to a reporter’s question about whether the US was willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan. “Yes, that’s the commitment we made,” he said.

In the 60 Minutes interview, he also said Chinese President Xi Jinping should know that “we agree with what we signed on to a long time ago”.

Don’t read too much into Biden’s Taiwan defence pledge, analysts say

He also said the US had a one-China policy and was “not encouraging their being independent”. It was up to Taiwan to decide on its independence, he said.

White House officials told the news programme that the US policy on Taiwan had not changed. When Biden made his comments in Tokyo in May, the White House also clarified that the US president’s comments did not reflect a policy change.

Ties between Washington and Beijing have been strained since the comments in May.

03:13

Taiwan showcases fighter jets as mainland China’s war games continue following Pelosi visit

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi angered Beijing when she travelled to Taiwan in early August. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched unprecedented live-fire military exercises around the island, resulting in a semi-blockade, and continued to send warplanes across the Taiwan Strait median line, a de facto border that Taiwan and the mainland had largely abided by for decades.

Beijing said Pelosi’s trip was an attempt by a senior US official to undermine Chinese sovereignty. The US, through the Group of 7, said it was normal for lawmakers to travel internationally and the PLA’s actions were “destabilising” and risked “unnecessary escalation”.

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