Joe Biden once again claimed that Washington is willing to use military force to defend Taiwan from Beijing, if necessary, while insisting that the US still adheres to ‘One China’ policy and is “not encouraging” the island’s independence.
During a ‘60 Minutes’ CBS News interview aired Sunday night, Biden was asked if the US would become directly involved to “defend the island” in a potential conflict between Beijing and Taiwan, including through the use of military force.
“Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack…” Biden replied, before the broadcaster cut away to clarify the controversial statement. A White House official apparently explained to CBS, before the interview was aired, that US policy “has not changed” and that officially the US would still neither confirm nor deny whether American forces would defend Taiwan.
“So, unlike Ukraine, to be clear sir, US forces, US men and women, would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion?” the interviewer Scott Pelley asked again.
“Yes,” reiterated Biden.
The US leader however also said Washington respects the ‘One China’ policy, by which it recognizes that there is only one China led by Beijing. “We agree with what we signed onto a long time ago. And that there’s One China policy, and Taiwan makes their own judgments about their independence. We are not moving – we’re not encouraging their being independent. That’s their decision.”
Biden previously made a similar statement in May, calling it America’s “commitment” to protect Taiwan. At the time, amid an outcry from Beijing, the White House was also forced to “clarify” the US leader’s words, saying it did not constitute any changes in Washington’s policy towards Taiwan or China, RT reports
The US president claims he told his Chinese counterpart that Beijing would pay a heavy price for violating anti-Russia sanctions
President Joe Biden said he tried to lay down the law with China early in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, warning President Xi Jinping that it would be a “gigantic mistake” to ignore the West’s anti-Moscow sanctions.
“I said that if you think that Americans and others will continue to invest in China based on your violating the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia, I think you’re making a gigantic mistake, but that’s your decision to make,” Biden said in a CBS News interview aired Sunday night.
Biden issued that warning when he called Xi in March, weeks after the Chinese leader met with Putin on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics on February 8 in Beijing. He claimed that he didn’t intend to threaten China; rather, he wanted to warn Xi of the heavy price that Beijing would pay for violating the sanctions.
Tonight Scott Pelley interviews President Joe Biden to discuss inflation, Russia’s war on Ukraine, and U.S – China tensions on the 55th season premiere of @60Minutes. https://t.co/FpX8ljFAaO pic.twitter.com/nbihulhZ5v
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) September 18, 2022
Asked whether apparently warming relations between China and Russia might portend a “new, more complicated Cold War,” Biden rejected the notion. He suggested that Beijing has heeded his warning, at least partly. “Thus far, there’s no indication they’ve put forward weapons or other things that Russia has wanted, so uh, well, maybe I shouldn’t say any more.”
However, Washington and Beijing have clashed repeatedly over Ukraine. China has been a major buyer of Russian exports during the conflict, and Chinese officials have suggested that the US and NATO instigated the crisis by expanding their military alliance onto Moscow’s doorstep.
Xi has said that he told Biden on the March call that the Russia-Ukraine conflict should be brought to an end as soon as possible. He declined to blame Russia for the crisis and suggested that the US and its allies should try to help resolve Moscow’s security concerns to end the fighting, RT reports.