U.S. President Joe Biden during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida May 23, 2022 in Tokyo. NICOLAS DATICHE / AFP
Joe Biden’s first official visit to Asia as President has two purposes: to show the intensity of ties between the United States and its allies in the region, and Washington’s determination to counter Chinese ambitions, including military ones. It is in this perspective that the US President’s remarks on Monday, May 23 in Tokyo must be understood.
Joe Biden, who arrived in Japan on Sunday after an initial stopover in South Korea, was quizzed on Taiwan during a news conference with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He expressed the will of the United States to defend the island in the event of Chinese aggression. “That’s the commitment we made,” he said. “China has no room for compromise or concession” when it comes to its territorial integrity and sovereignty, Chinese diplomacy spokesman Wang Wenbin responded.
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Joe Biden’s remarks are not a blip or an excess of language, but a desire by the administration to be more clear on its intentions, for two reasons. On the one hand, China’s unrestrained and aggressive ambitions in the Indo-Pacific, behind the facade of speeches about a multipolar world and the virtues of cooperation. On the other hand, questions about the ability of the United States to cope with multiple simultaneous crises, given its political and military investments in support of Ukraine against Russia. On this point, Joe Biden also made a connection between the crises and stressed the need for long and tough sanctions against Russia. If not, he said, “what signal would this send to China about the cost of trying to take Taiwan by force?” »
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“Similar action” as in Ukraine
However, a White House adviser was quick to clarify the President’s statements and assure them that the intention was not to break the strategic ambiguity practiced by the United States in this file. Washington therefore continues to place its arms shipments to the island under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. An identical choreography took place in October 2021 when Joe Biden took part in a public broadcast aired on the CNN channel. He also mentioned the “obligation” to defend Taiwan in the event of Chinese aggression. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki responded by assuring that US policy remained unchanged.
Joe Biden himself essentially reaffirmed the traditional line of the United States, which is to accept the idea of a single China. But the idea of taking Taiwan by force “just wouldn’t be appropriate,” the president said. This would lead to a dislocation of the entire region and would be a similar action as in Ukraine. It is therefore an even heavier burden. Joe Biden felt China was “already flirting with danger” with military maneuvers near what he sees as a simple unruly province.
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