During a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, Biden was asked if the United States would be willing to go further to help Taiwan in the event of an invasion than with Ukraine.
“You didn’t want to get involved militarily in the Ukraine conflict for obvious reasons. Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if that’s the case?” asked a journalist.
“Yes,” Biden replied. “That’s the commitment we made.”
“We agree with the policy of One China. We signed it, and all the agreements that are associated with it from here, but the idea that it can be taken by force, only by force, is (not ) appropriate, “he said. .
Under the “One China” policy, the United States acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially acknowledged Beijing’s claim to the self-governing island of $ 23 million. The United States provides defensive weapons to Taiwan, but has remained intentionally ambiguous about whether to intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.
Although the president has made similar comments in the past, including during a CNN briefing in October, only to cause the White House to back down and insist that long-term US policy has not changed. to the island, this time Biden’s strong warning. he was made right at the door of China during his first trip to Asia as president. The visit aims to unite allies and partners to counter China’s growing influence.
It also came a day before Biden attended the second face-to-face summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), an informal grouping between the US, Japan, Australia and India that has alarmed Beijing.
Several of Biden’s top officials were caught off guard by statements, several aides told CNN, adding that they did not expect Biden to be so unequivocal.
In a statement following Biden’s comments, a White House official said the official position in the United States had not changed.
“As the President said, our policy has not changed. He reiterated our One China policy and our commitment to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. He also reiterated our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself, ”the official said.
China expresses “strong opposition” to the comments
Within hours, China had expressed “strong dissatisfaction and strong opposition” to Biden’s comments, saying it would not allow any outside forces to interfere in its “internal affairs.”
“On issues related to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and other basic interests, there is no room for compromise,” said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
“We urge the US side to seriously follow the One China principle … be careful with words and deeds on the Taiwan issue and do not send any wrong signals to pro-independence pro-independence and pro-Taiwan forces. “It will not cause serious damage to the situation in the Taiwan Strait and Sino – US relations.”
Taiwan is less than 110 miles (177 kilometers) off the coast of China. For more than 70 years, the two sides have ruled separately, but that has not stopped the Communist Party of China from claiming the island as its own, even though it has never controlled it.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said that “reunification” between China and Taiwan is inevitable and has refused to rule out the use of force. Tensions between Beijing and Taipei are the highest they have been in decades, with the Chinese military sending a record number of warplanes near the island.
Joanne Ou, a spokeswoman for Taiwan’s foreign ministry, told CNN that she “expresses a sincere welcome and gratitude to President Biden and the United States government for reiterating their strong commitment to Taiwan.”
Biden compares the possible invasion of Taiwan with the war in Ukraine
Biden on Monday compared a possible invasion of Taiwan by China with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia earlier this year, warning: “It will displace the whole region” and emphasizing that “Russia must pay a long price term for their actions “.
“And the reason I bother to say this, not just about Ukraine, if, in fact, after all (Russian President Vladimir Putin) has done, there is a rapprochement … between the Ukrainians and Russia, and these sanctions are not maintained. In many ways, what signal does this send to China about the cost of trying to take Taiwan by force? “
Biden said China “is already flirting with danger right now by flying so close and with all the maneuvers they are carrying out.”
“But the United States is committed, we made a commitment, we support the policy of One China, we support everything we have done in the past, but that does not mean, it does not mean that China has the capacity , have the, excuse me, jurisdiction to enter and use force to take over Taiwan, “he added.
At the press conference, Kishida also reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
“Attempts to change the status quo by force, such as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, should never be tolerated in the Indo-Pacific, especially in East Asia,” he said.
“As the regional security environment becomes increasingly severe, I reaffirmed with President Biden that we must quickly strengthen the deterrence and response of the Japan-US alliance,” he said. and added that he conveyed his determination to “fundamentally strengthen Japan’s defense capacity.” “
This story has been updated with additional reports and feedback.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.