Photo: DAVID MAREUIL/AP PHOTO/PICTURE ALLIANCE / Deutsche Welle
The president of the United States, Democrat Joe Biden, said this Monday (23.05.2022) that if China tries to invade Taiwan, The United States will intervene militarily. He also argued that Russia must pay a long-term price for the attack launched against Ukraine, because otherwise a favorable scenario could be generated for Beijing to try to seize the island.
“The United States has committed to supporting the ‘one China’ position, but that does not mean that China has the jurisdiction to use force to take Taiwan,” Biden said when asked by this possibility during an appearance before the media as part of his visit to Japan. And regarding the possibility of intervening in said scenario, the president replied “yes, we have committed to it.”
China considers Taiwan as a rebellious province that must be integrated into the country, by force if necessary. Biden assured that this logic shows that the communist regime “flirts with danger by flying very low and with other maneuvers.” The Taiwan issue came up for discussion in the framework of the harshest comments that the US president has issued on the war in Ukraine.
“Pay a price”
Russia “has to pay a long-term price” for its “barbarism in Ukraine,” Biden said. “And this doesn’t just apply to Ukraine,” he added, as China sees continued pressure from the West on Moscow. “What signal does all this send to China about any attempt to take Taiwan by force?” Biden asked.
Biden addressed the situation of Taiwan with the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, during the summit held in Tokyo, which was focused on closer cooperation in the face of the challenges presented by China or North Korea in the region. Both promised that they will strengthen their collaboration in the face of “China’s increasingly coercive behavior”. “The invasion of Ukraine has led us to reaffirm this commitment so that there is no such unilateral attempt in the region,” said the Japanese prime minister.
Shortly after, the White House stressed that there is no change in US policy towards Taiwan. “As the president said, this has not changed, he reiterated our ‘One China’ policy and our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also repeated our commitment to provide Taiwan with military means so that it can be defend”, said a senior official.