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