A Biden administration official has clarified that Taiwan’s long U.S. policy has not changed, roughly, after President Biden suggested the United States would defend the island if attacked.
In an interview with ABC News, Biden was asked about the responses of other countries amid the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He was specifically asked to respond to reports that China was telling Taiwan that U.S. management of the withdrawal showed that Washington could not be trusted to defend itself.
Biden said there was a “fundamental difference” between the situation in Afghanistan and Taiwan, South Korea and NATO.
The president appeared to bring Taiwan together with countries with which the United States has explicit defense commitments.
“They are … entities with which we have made agreements based not on a civil war they have on this island or in South Korea, but on an agreement in which they have a unity government that, in fact, tries to keep the bad guys from doing them bad things, ”he said.
“We have assumed – we have kept all the commitments. We made a sacred commitment to Article 5 that if in fact someone invaded or took action against our NATO allies, we would respond. Same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with – Taiwan. It’s not even comparable to talk about it. “
A senior Biden administration official said Thursday that “U.S. policy toward Taiwan claimed by China has not changed.”
Since then, analysts said Biden appeared to have misrepresented his comments about Taiwan.
The United States has a long-standing policy of “strategic ambiguity” over whether to intervene if Taiwan is attacked by China, in a concession to the Chinese Communist Party, which refuses to recognize Taiwan’s independence and democratically elected government. .
The United States’ relations with Taiwan have not been official since diplomatic recognition was changed in Beijing in 1979.
With publishing cables