Who’s in charge here anyway?
For the third time since August of last year, the White House walked back comments by President Biden on Monday implying the US would aid Taiwan if the island nation came under attack from China.
During a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden was asked if the US would be prepared to defend Taiwan if such an attack took place.
“Yes,” the president answered.
“That’s the commitment we made. We agree with the ‘one China’ policy. We signed on to it,” Biden added. “All the attendant agreements [were] made from there. But the idea that that can be taken by force, just taken by force. It’s just not — it’s just not appropriate.”
The White House later insisted that US policy on Taiwan “has not changed.”
“As the president said, our policy has not changed,”
a spokesperson told Fox News. “He reiterated our One China Policy and our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also reiterated our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself.”
The “one China” policy refers to the US position that the Communist government in Beijing is the sole legal authority over the Asian nation and acknowledges — but does not accept — its claim that Taiwan is part of China.
Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the US is not required to militarily defend Taiwan, but is required to ensure Taiwan has the resources to defend itself.
Despite the cleanup, China’s foreign ministry hit back at Biden on Monday, expressing “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to his comments.
“No one should underestimate the strong determination, firm will, and strong ability of the Chinese people to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and do not stand against the 1.4 billion Chinese people,” the foreign ministry said
nypost.com
