Joe Biden could be flirting with danger as he confirmed that the US would get involved militarily if China invaded Taiwan.
During a press conference today in Tokyo, Biden was asked if the US would fight the Chinese if its army invaded Taiwan. “Yes,” said Biden as he stood alongside Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida. “That’s a commitment we made.”
The president went on to say that the White House’s agreement to comply with the ‘One China’ policy has not changed. The policy states that China only owns the People’s Republic of China, so the US’ diplomatic dealings with Taiwan are not official.
China claims that Taiwan is part of the Republic.
“As the president said, our policy has not changed,” a White House spokesman told Fox.
“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.”
Biden said his” expectation is it will not happen, it will not be attempted .”He also condemned China’s military exercises, accusing the Republic, which has around 2,185,000 active military members, making it one of the largest armies in the world of “flirting with danger.”
China conducted military tests in the disputed South China Sea on Friday as Biden began his tour of Asia.
Chinese officials hit back at Biden’s comments. Beijing’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the president’s comments invoked “strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition.”
“China has no room for compromise or concessions on issues involving China’s core interests such as sovereignty and territorial integrity,“ he added while warning the US not to send false signals to Taiwan’s independence fighters and damage peace and stability in the region.
U.S. President Joe Biden, in Japan to launch a regional economic plan to counter China and reaffirm ties with a key Asian ally, began his visit by meeting with Emperor Naruhito https://t.co/GVviUmPJX5 pic.twitter.com/ScbETSuGzp
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 23, 2022
Gordon Chang, the author of ‘The Great US-China Tech War,’ told Fox he felt Biden’s decision to tour Asia was centered around the rising threat of a possible Chinese invasion into Taiwan and was designed to send the message to Beijing that the US is “no longer afraid” to go head-to-head against it.
“They [Biden touring Asia] are connected because, before Biden touched down in South Korea – the first stop on the trip – the Chinese publicly warned him not to talk about Taiwan, and so there was the joint statement between President Biden and President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea, which specifically mentions Taiwan,” Wenbin told Fox.
“There are going to be a lot of Taiwan discussions in Japan, the second and last stop on this trip – and so really what the United States was saying to Beijing is,” ‘I’m not afraid of you anymore.’”
The Asian tour will see Biden meet with three news leaders, including the South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, Tokyo’s Kishida, and the newly elected Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese.
Biden arrived in Japan Sunday afternoon after spending two days in South Korea. While in the country, he will meet with families whose relatives have been abducted in North Korea.
This story syndicated with permission from Jo Marney, Author at Trending Politics
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