US cleans up Biden's 'commitment' to defend Taiwan from Chinese invasion
ABC News
The Biden administration is again playing clean-up after President Joe Biden said the U.S. would come to Taiwan's defense in the event of an invasion by mainland China.
The Biden administration is again playing cleanup after President Joe Biden said the U.S. would come to Taiwan's defense in the event of an invasion by mainland China -- despite decades of policy that leaves that an open question.
His comment prompted a stern warning from the People's Republic of China, which considers the self-governing island a breakaway province, especially since Biden has made it twice now in the last couple of months.
That's led to speculation that Biden may be pushing the boundaries of "strategic ambiguity," the longstanding U.S. policy that leaves unanswered whether and how the U.S. would intervene in a conflict across the Taiwan Strait. In recent months, as China has escalated its incursions into Taiwan's air defense zone and ramped up its rhetoric about reunion, some China hawks in Washington have called for an end to the policy.
But the White House, the State Department, and the Pentagon all said Friday there was no change in U.S. policy despite Biden's answer during a CNN town hall.
