During an appearance on CBS' “60 Minutes” this weekend, President Joe Biden said he would send U.S. troops to Taiwan if the independent island was invaded by China. A White House spokesman then had to issue a correction to the president's claims, saying that his words were not to be taken as the nation's official position.
This is far from the first time in recent months the White House has had to walk back Biden's claims on Taiwan, the most recent came in May of this year.
Per a New York Post report in May:
“For the third time since August of last year, the White House walked back comments by President Biden on Monday implying the US would aid Taiwan if the island nation came under attack from China.
During a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden was asked if the US would be prepared to defend Taiwan if such an attack took place.
“Yes,” the president answered.
“That's the commitment we made. We agree with the ‘one China' policy. We signed on to it,” Biden added. “All the attendant agreements [were] made from there. But the idea that that can be taken by force, just taken by force. It's just not — it's just not appropriate.”
Reuters reported today that “the Chinese foreign ministry said on September 19 that China had lodged “stern representations” with the United States after US President Joe Biden said US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.”
A number of America's political leaders have recently visited the independent island nation. Nancy Pelosi remains the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the nation since Republican Newt Gingrich went when he was Speaker of the House in April of 1997. Pelosi visited with a delegation of top congressional Democrats, but no Republicans.
Officials that took part in that visit were as follows:
- Speaker Nancy Pelosi
- Chairman Gregory Meeks, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
- Chairman Mark Takano, Chair of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
- Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, Vice Chair, House Ways and Means Committee
- Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Chair of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform
- Congressman Andy Kim, Member of the House Armed Services Committee; Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
Earlier this summer at the America First Agenda Summit, former House speaker Newt Gingrich challenged Speaker Pelosi to take a bipartisan delegation to the island if she did visit. Gingrich remains the other highest-ranking U.S. official ever to visit, tied now with Pelosi.
American Liberty News also reported at the time that “Pelosi's visit to the self-ruled country claimed by China comes amid heightened tensions between the countries. China has threatened to retaliate against the U.S. for sending the high-ranking representative on the official visit. According to White House national security spokesman John Kirby, China may fire missiles near Taiwan, conduct large-scale air or naval activities or make “spurious legal claims, such as asserting that the Taiwan Strait is not an international waterway.” RELATED: Confirmed: Nancy Pelosi Visits Taiwan, Sparking Possible Chinese Response
On the other hand, Democrat Stephanie Murphy of Florida took a bipartisan delegation to visit Taiwan, as well as the Asian nations of South Korea and Mongolia, earlier this month.
That group included the following lawmakers per a release from Murphy's office.
“Murphy was joined by Representatives Scott Franklin, R-Fla., Kaiali'i Kahele, D-Hawaii, Joe Wilson, R-S.C., Michael Waltz, R-Fla., Andy Barr, R-Ky., Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., and Kat Cammack, R-Fla.”
Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy of Winter Park, Fla. serves as vice chair of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations of the House Armed Services Committee.
Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn also visited the nation of Taiwan earlier this year.
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Biden is THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF!!
Maybe he is saying that HE WOULD defend Tiawan, regardless of what previous policy is!
The US is responsible for the protection of Taiwan ever since the communist takeover of China in 1945. The US Navy shielded Taiwan from Red Chinese navy and army.
“The United States Security Partnership with Taiwan”
Richard Bush The Brookings Institution
brookings. edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/fp_20160713_taiwan_alliance.pdf
(An excerpt)
Of all of the United States’ security partnerships around the world, the one with Taiwan is surely unique. Washington does not recognize or have diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC) government in Taipei, but instead recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing. Washington has an embassy in Beijing and conducts its ties with Taiwan through a nominally private organization, the American Institute in Taiwan. This makes Taiwan a rare case where Washington has a security partnership with an entity with which it does not have diplomatic relations.
The reason for that security partnership is PRC policy toward Taiwan. It holds that the island is a part of the sovereign territory of China. It seeks the “reunification” of Taiwan with the PRC under a formula that both the island’s government and people reject. It denies that the ROC exists as a sovereign government. It has never renounced the use of force as a means to end Taiwan’s separateness, stating that by law, it has set conditions under which it would use “non-peaceful means.” And it holds that the United States has no right to have a security relationship with Taiwan and sell defense articles to its armed forces.
Another anomaly is the absence of an American treaty commitment to come to Taiwan’s defense if it were ever attacked. Such a treaty, the U.S.-ROC mutual defense treaty, existed from 1954 to 1979, but the Carter administration terminated it as a condition for establishing relations with the PRC.
…………..Did’ja get that?? ……… After 1979 ===> NO TREATY!
This BS was a con game. A face saving sleight of hand that worked.
One China Policy to the communists means they will take over Taiwan.
One China Policy to the USA means Taiwan will once again rule China.
But the communists are wise to the con now.
A White House “””spokesman””” then had to issue a correction to the president’s claims, saying that his words were not to be taken as the nation’s official position?????
Who was the “””spokesman”””?
Has to make you wonder who’s really running this country.Is it Biden as the ‘resident, or a bunch of WH staffers taking heir orders from a cabal of DS globalists?