US President Joe Biden vows to defend Taiwan if China invades

In a key development, US President Joe Biden on Thursday publicly vowed to protect Taiwan against Chinese incursion. Speaking at a press meet at CNN town hall, Biden stated that the US has a 'commitment' to protect Taiwan against any potential threat from the latter's neighbour. It is to be noted that Biden's comments come amid China's recurrent sovereignty claims over Taiwanese territory under the 'One China' policy and Beijing's escalated aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.

Joe Biden's comments seem to shake the decade-long 'strategic ambiguity' of Washington over its military role in Taiwan during a Chinese attack. However, a White House official later clarified that the President's comments do not indicate any change in the policies under the Taiwan Relations Act and asserted that the latter's comments came following the 'unintentional escalation' of aggression by Beijing, CNN reported. Meanwhile, the US has also remained alarmed by Beijing's hypersonic missile test last summer. However, on Thursday, Biden stated that he is 'not concerned' about 'intentional' military conflict with China, instead, he was worried whether "China and Russia...are going to engage in activities that put them in a position where they make a more serious mistake."

China responds to Biden, asks US to be careful of what it says on Taiwan

China has urged the US to handle Taiwan-related issues carefully and properly and not to send wrong signals to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said

"China has no room for compromise on issues involving its core interests. US should act and speak cautiously on the Taiwan issue."

Tensions between the US, China and Taiwan

Tensions between China and Taiwan have gained momentum since October 1 after the former flew over 100 fighter jets into Taiwan's Air Defence zone. This was followed by the latter's dependence on the US for military support. Meanwhile, self-ruled Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly expressed willingness to remain independent against the Chinese goal of 'reunification.' On the other hand, US and China have remained geopolitical rivals for decades and relations between them have further frayed due to Beijing's aggressive claims of sovereignty along the South China Sea fuelled by Chinese engagement in testing high-tech projectiles.

Beijing's assertive behaviour in Taiwan

Meanwhile, Beijing has sent a record number of warplanes into the Taiwan Air Defense territory, including nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, which were intercepted close to the self-ruled nation on October 3 while Beijing marked National Day, Kyodo News reported citing Defence Ministry. As per reports, Taipei Defence Military deployed combat aircraft to warn the Chinese warplanes and activated missile systems to monitor them. Claiming to be one of the biggest intended infringements by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Taiwanese Premier Su Tseng-chang told reporters on Saturday that China has been 'bellicose' and ''damaging regional peace engaging in many bullying acts," Al Jazeera had reported. Earlier this month, Taiwan intercepted two Chinese J-16 fighters and an anti-submarine aircraft once again into its airspace.

Image: AP