U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Washington is “committed” to defend Taiwan from an attack by China and warned Beijing that the United States “has the most powerful army in the world”.
At an event on the U.S. network CNN, the White House tenant has thus answered a question on whether Washington would protect the island in case of a possible offensive by the Asian giant, which in recent weeks has sent dozens of fighter jets to Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone.
“China knows that the United States has the most powerful military in the world,” has also apostilled the president of the United States, which provides weapons to Taiwan, but so far had not clarified whether it would intervene militarily in a hypothetical attack by Beijing.
Following Biden’s remarks, a White House official said that with these words the president was “not announcing any change” in U.S. policy”. “The U.S. defense relationship with Taiwan is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act. We will maintain our commitment under the Act, continue to support Taiwan’s self-defense, and continue to oppose any unilateral changes to the ‘status quo,'” he added.
On the other hand, during his speech at the CNN event, the US president assured that he does not want “a cold war with China” and that he is not looking for a “conflict” with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, with whom he has spoken “more than with any other world leader”.
Biden has also said that he is not worried about an international military conflict with China, but he is worried about an escalation, and has defended that he should “worry” about whether China or other countries like Russia, “are going to engage in activities that put them in a position where they could make a serious mistake”.
Beijing considers Taiwan as another province under its sovereignty and has assured that it will control the area even through the use of force if necessary. Moreover, the government considers the island’s authorities to be separatists.
