Biden on his tour in Asia: the US will defend Taiwan if China tries an invasion

The United States marks its strongest support for Taiwan’s independence and China warns of a “resolute opposition”.

During his stop in Tokyo, Japan, in the middle of his first tour of Asia as president, Joe Biden assured that his government would be willing to intervene militarily in Taiwan, if China decided to take that territory by force.

“That is the commitment we made (…) We agree with the one China policy. We signed it and all the planned agreements were made from there. But the idea that you can just take (Taiwan) by force, it’s just not appropriate,” Biden said about it, as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida looked on.

The president added that the responsibility to protect that territory is “even stronger” after Russia launched the war against Ukraine.

This is one of the strongest statements by the US Presidency in support of self-government in decades. Washington has traditionally avoided declaring explicit security guarantees to Taiwan, with which it no longer has a mutual defense treaty.

A high official of the White House indicated that the new declaration does not represent changes in this matter.

But Biden’s comments seem to move away from the current US policy known as “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan. While Washington is required by law to provide that territory with the means to defend itself, it has long taken a vague line about whether it would intervene militarily to protect it in the event of a Chinese attack.

The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry thanked the US president for his support.

China rejects Joe Biden’s remarks on Taiwan

The US president’s comments drew a strong response from Beijing, which refers to Taiwan as a “rogue province.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin expressed his “strong discontent and resolute opposition” to Biden’s remarks.

“China has no room for compromises or concessions on issues involving China’s core interests, such as sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.

In addition, he indicated that his country “will take firm measures to safeguard its sovereignty and its security interests. We will do what we say,” she remarked.

Beijing considers the island, which has its own government, as part of its territory. And under his “one China” policy, he says it is the most sensitive and important issue in his bilateral relations with Washington.

Despite the White House’s insistence that Biden’s new statements do not show a change in his foreign policy on the matter, Grant Newsham, a retired US Marine Corps colonel and current research fellow at the Strategic Studies Forum from Japan, explains that the meaning is clear.

“This statement deserves to be taken seriously (…) It is a clear enough statement that the United States will not sit idly by if China attacks Taiwan,” the expert stressed.

Xi Jijnping’s government has intensified its military provocations against Taiwan in recent years with the aim of intimidating it into accepting its demands for unification.

“They are already flirting with danger right now by flying so close and all the maneuvering that goes on,” Biden said.

Biden Launches New Indo-Pacific Trade Deal

In parallel in Tokyo, the White House leader launched a new trade agreement with 12 Indo-Pacific nations.

At a press conference, the president acknowledged that the finances of the United States present “problems”, although he pointed out that “less important than those of the rest of the world”.

Still, he admitted that an economic recession was not inevitable in his country and warned Americans worried about high rates of inflation that it would be a while before they felt relief.

In the midst of this scenario, Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Agreement on May 23. According to his Administration, it is designed to address the need for stability in trade following the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine, both of which are major exporters of basic raw materials, from wheat and cereals to oil, natural gas and coal, gold and other precious metals.

The nations that join the pact are: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Together with the United States, they represent 40% of world GDP.

In a joint statement, the signatories assured that the agreement will help them collectively “prepare our economies for the future”, after the devastating global consequences.

For Washington, the move will help the US and Asian economies work more closely on issues including supply chains, digital trade, clean energy, worker protection and anti-corruption efforts.

Details still need to be negotiated among member nations, making it difficult for the Biden Administration to explain how this deal would deliver on the promise of helping American workers and businesses while meeting global needs.

Critics and experts such as Matthew Goodman, former director of international economics at the National Security Council during the Barack Obama administration, point to enormous deficiencies. The specialist assures that the plan does not offer incentives to potential partners to reduce tariffs nor does it give signatories greater access to US markets.

Those limitations may not make the new pact an attractive alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership for Economic Cooperation, TPP, which moved forward without the US after former President Donald Trump withdrew. China, the largest trading partner for many in the region, is also seeking to join the TPP.

With Reuters and AP