Tokyo – President Biden said on Monday that the United States would intervene militarily if China Invasion of Taiwan, in one of the strongest and most public statements of US government support for Taiwan in decades. Mr. Biden said the burden of protecting the self-governing island became “stronger” after that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, CBS reporter Nancy Cordes asked Biden, “Are you willing to engage militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?”
He simply replied, “Yes.”
I follow Cordes with a question: “You?”
“That’s the commitment we made,” Mr. Biden said. “We agree with the ‘one China’ policy. We signed it and all the agreements accompanying it that were reached from there. But the idea that it is [Taiwan] It can be taken by force, only by force, it is not – it is not convenient. This will disrupt the entire region and will be another measure similar to what happened in Ukraine. And so it is a stronger burden.”
The president then said that “the US policy toward Taiwan has not changed at all,” stressing his government’s commitment to “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and to ensure that there is no unilateral change to the status quo.”
Mr. Biden said his “expectation” was that China would not attempt to take control of Taiwan by force, but added that “a lot of that depends on how powerful the world is showing that this kind of action will result. Long-term denunciation by the rest [international] social communication.”
The president said Beijing is “playing with danger” at last Military flights near Taiwan.
Beijing was quick to respond, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin warning: “No one should underestimate the firm resolve, strong will and strong ability of the Chinese people to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” according to Agence France-Presse.
It was the second time in a year that Biden left people to question his administration’s position on the US government’s long-standing informal policy of “strategic ambiguity” over Taiwan. In October 2021, after being asked during CNN Town Hall in Maryland if the United States would defend Taiwan against an attack from China, He said: Yes, we have an obligation. ”
Shortly after he made those remarks, the White House issued a statement insisting, as Biden did after his comments in Tokyo on Monday, that there had been no change in official US policy on Taiwan.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Under the “one China” policy, the United States recognizes Beijing as the government of all of China and does not establish formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, Washington maintains unofficial contacts with Taiwan, including a de facto embassy in Taipei, its capital. The United States also supplies military equipment to defend the island.
Ukraine
Mr. Biden also said on Monday that Russia must “pay a long-term price” for its “barbarism in Ukraine” in the form of sanctions against Moscow by the United States and its allies.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to eradicate “Ukraine’s identity” because he “couldn’t occupy it”.
“If in many ways the sanctions don’t hold, what signal does that send to China about the cost of trying to seize Taiwan by force?” the president said.
The United States has steadfastly refused to get directly involved in the Ukraine war, instead providing military and economic aid to the war-torn country.
recession
When asked if recession is inevitable in the United States, Biden answered simply: “No.”
This is despite record high inflation and supply shortages caused in part by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
He admitted that the US economy had “problems”, but said it was in a better position than other countries.
“We have problems like the rest of the world, but they are less important than the rest of the world,” Biden said.
Mr. Biden acknowledged the impact that severe supply shortages and rising energy prices are having on American families. He said his administration was working to ease the pain for American consumers, but said immediate solutions were unlikely.
“This will be a deal,” the president said. “This will take some time.”
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
The comments came ahead of his planned launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a new trade deal designed by his administration to signal the United States’ dedication to the contested economic sphere and to address the need for stability in trade after the disruptions caused by the pandemic. The Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Biden said the new framework would increase US cooperation with other countries in the region.
Observers say the IPEF is part of a broader US effort to reassert its influence in the region and counter China.
The White House said the framework will help the United States and Asian economies work closely on issues including supply chains, digital trade, clean energy, labor protection and anti-corruption efforts. Details still need to be negotiated among member states, making it difficult for the administration to say how this agreement will fulfill the promise of helping American workers and businesses while also meeting global needs.
Critics say the framework has significant shortcomings. It does not offer incentives to potential partners by lowering tariffs or providing signatories with greater access to US markets. These limitations may not make the US framework an attractive alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is still moving forward after the US bailout. China, the largest trading partner for many in the region, is also seeking to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Beijing has described the current proposed structure as a “clique”.
monkeypox
On the other hand, he sought to allay concerns about recent cases monkeypox identified in Europe and the United States, saying he did not see the need to impose strict quarantine measures.
Speaking in Tokyo a day after saying the virus was Something you’ve got to worry about“I don’t think it rises to the level of concern that was with him COVID-19.“
Monkeypox is rarely recognized outside of Africa. But as of Friday, there were 80 confirmed cases worldwide, including at least two in the United States and another 50 suspected cases. On Sunday, a presumed case of monkeypox was investigated in Broward County, South Florida, which state health officials said appeared to be linked to international travel.
Although the disease belongs to the same family as the smallpox virus, its symptoms are milder. People usually recover within two to four weeks without requiring hospitalization, but the disease is sometimes fatal.
Mr. Biden said the smallpox vaccine works against monkeypox. When asked if the United States had enough stockpiles of this vaccine to deal with the spread of monkeypox, he replied, “I think we have enough to deal with the possibility of a problem.”
Japan and the United Nations
Japan’s Kishida said Biden supports Japan becoming a permanent member of the “reformed” United Nations Security Council, as calls for such reform grow.
If approved by the world organization, Japan will join the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States as permanent members.
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