Being Accused Of Committing Dangerous Acts By China, President Biden Reiterates Ready To Defend Taiwan: We Will Not Back Down

Presiden Joe Biden. (Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore)

JAKARTA - The United States will come to the defense of Taiwan and is committed to defending the island that China claims as its own territory, President Joe Biden said on Thursday.

"Yes, we are committed to doing that," President Biden told CNN Town Hall, as quoted by Reuters, October 22, when asked if the United States would come to the defense of Taiwan, which has complained of increasing military and political pressure from Beijing to accept it. Chinese sovereignty.

While Washington is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, it has long followed a policy of "strategic ambiguity" about whether to intervene militarily to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

In August, a President Biden administration official said US policy on Taiwan had not changed after the president appeared to suggest the United States would defend the island if attacked.

President Biden said people should not worry about Washington's military might, because "China, Russia and the rest of the world know that we are the most powerful military in the history of the world."

"What you have to worry about is whether they will engage in activities that will put them in a position where they might make serious mistakes," said President Biden.

"I don't want a cold war with China. I just want China to understand we're not going back, that we're not going to change our views," said President Biden.

Earlier, Taiwan's Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said military tensions between Taiwan and China were the worst in more than 40 years, adding China would be capable of a "full-scale" invasion by 2025.

Taiwan asserts itself as an independent country and will defend its freedoms and democracy. Meanwhile, China says Taiwan is the most sensitive and important issue in its relations with the United States and has condemned what it calls "collusion" between Washington and Taipei.

Separately, Speaking to reporters earlier on Thursday, China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun said they were pursuing "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan and responding to "separatist efforts" by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

"We are not troublemakers. On the contrary, some countries, particularly the US, are taking dangerous actions, bringing the situation in the Taiwan Strait in a dangerous direction," he explained.

"I think at this point what we should call on is the United States to stop that kind of practice. Dragging Taiwan into the war is clearly not in anyone's interest. I don't see that the United States will gain anything from that," he concluded.