The US has had a longstanding approach of “strategic ambiguity” when it comes to Taiwan’s defence. Source: The White House, Flickr.
US President Joe Biden has said US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion on the island.
Biden was asked about Taiwan and China during his appearance on the CBS program 60 Minutes.
He was asked whether “US forces, US men and women would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion,” to which he replied they would.
The US has had a longstanding approach of “strategic ambiguity” when it comes to Taiwan’s defence.
The US acknowledges the Chinese position that Taiwan is a part of China, under the “One China” policy.
However, the US has never recognised the claim of the Communist Party officially and has provided defensive weapons to Taiwan while being intentionally ambiguous on whether there will be military intervention should China attack.
Biden referenced this in the 60 Minutes interview.
“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,” he said.
“We are not moving – we’re not encouraging their being independent… That’s their decision.”
Though when he was asked if US forces would defend Taiwan, he did say: “Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack”.
It is not the first time Biden has appeared to go outside the US “strategic ambiguity” approach to Taiwan, though analysts have noted his choice of words still leave room for interpretation and manoeuvrability.
The comments are still sure to anger China which was infuriated over an August visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Similar comments have prompted Beijing to accuse Washington of violating the “One China” principle.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately for more than 70 years but China’s Communist Party claims Taiwan as its own even though it has never controlled the island.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said “reunification” is inevitable and has not ruled out the use of force.
The Chinese military have been holding major drills near Taiwan with recent tensions between the two at the highest they have been in decades.
CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said las week close attention is being paid to what China is learning from the war in Ukraine.
“We are watching very carefully how the Chinese are understanding the situation in Ukraine – how the Russians have performed, how the Ukrainians have performed, and the implications of that for their own plans as they may be in Taiwan,” he said.
The US intelligence community believes Xi Jinping wants to build a military capable of taking control of Taiwan by 2027, though Cohen said Xi Jinping has not decided on whether to invade.
Cohen added that it is believed he would prefer control of Taiwan through “nonmilitary means”.
