Biden said the idea that Taiwan would be forcibly seized was “(not at all) appropriate,” admitting that the United States still agreed with the “One China” policy.
Some of Biden’s chief executives were distracted, adding that aides told CNN that they didn’t expect Biden to be so obvious. The White House immediately downplayed Biden’s comments, saying it did not reflect changes in US policy. It is the third time in the last few months that Biden has said that the United States will only protect Taiwan from Chinese attacks and retreat those statements to the White House.
Under the “One China” policy, the United States acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially acknowledged Beijing’s claim to 23 million autonomous islands. The United States provides Taiwan’s defense weapons, but remains deliberately ambiguous as to whether to intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.
Tensions between Beijing and Taipei have been the highest in decades, with Chinese troops sending record numbers of military aircraft near the island.
Biden’s comments quickly caught the attention of the Chinese government, saying that China expressed “strong dissatisfaction and strong opposition” to Biden’s comments and did not allow foreign forces to interfere with its “domestic affairs.”
“There is no compromise on issues related to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and other core interests,” said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
“We urged the United States to seriously follow one Chinese principle … pay attention to words and actions on the Taiwan issue and not send a false signal to pro-Taiwan independence and separatist forces. Please-it will not be a serious cause of damage to the situation of the Taiwan Strait and the entire US-China relationship. “
Zhu Fenglian, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Secretariat, said, “I urge the United States to stop making statements or actions that violate one China principle and three Central American joint communiqués …. People who play with fire are certainly themselves. Will burn itself. “”
According to officials, Covid’s restrictions and other crises have made it difficult to schedule a trip. He is the third president of the United States in a row to attempt a foreign policy that refocuses on Asia, but intervening events often get in the way.
However, there is currently no Asian equivalent to NATO that provides a critical structure for the Western response to Russia’s aggression. And for the past few years, China has been working hard to develop the countries of the region, demonstrating the power of the region.
Biden has taken some steps to counter these movements-activating the quad. Share sensitive US nuclear-armed submarine technology with Australia for the first time. And last week, he hosted a summit of Southeast Asian leaders at the White House to discuss trade and security.
However, it is not clear that these measures have done much to contain China’s ambitions. Some analysts also point out similarities between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Taiwan’s concerns about the future.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Donald Judd, and Nectar Gan contributed to this report.
Source: www.cnn.com