Biden and His Foreign Policy Team At Least Need to Get on the Same Page Regarding Taiwan

Ted Galen CarpenterStatements by the Biden administration about U.S. policy toward Taiwan have taken on a very disturbing pattern. The latest episode occurred on October 21 during a CNN town hall session when the president was asked whether the United States would defend Taiwan from an attack by the People ’s Republic of China (PRC). Bidenresponded unhesitatingly: “Yes, we have a commitment. ” He flatly misstated what U.S. policy has been since Washington established formal diplomatic relations with the PRC in 1979 and adopted theTaiwan Relations Act (TRA) to clarify economic and cultural ties with Taiwan.The TRA commits the United States only to sell Taiwan “defensive” weapons and to regard any PRC attack on the island as a serious “breach of the peace” of East Asia. It emphatically did not obligate the United States to defend Taiwan with its own military forces. Moreover, U.S. officials over the decades have stated repeatedly that Washington endorses a “one China” policy, and whenever questioned, they have described U .S. policy as one of “strategic ambiguity.”Biden ’s statement eliminated any hint of ambiguity. More accurately, it would have done so, if members of his administration had not spent the next several daysscrambling to “clarify” his comment and insist that there had been no change in U.S. policy. “He wasn’t announcing a change in policy nor have we changed our policy, ” White House press secretary Jen P...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs