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White House repeats no Taiwan policy change; experts see Biden gaffe -Breaking

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© Reuters. FILEPHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden talks during a townhall about his infrastructure investments with CNN’s Anderson Cooper in Baltimore, Maryland. It was held on October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/

Jeff Mason and David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Friday’s White House statement that Joe Biden had said the United States will help Taiwan if China attacks it, was not a signal of a new U.S. policy. Analysts dismissed his remarks as a slap in the face.

Washington must provide Taiwan the necessary defense mechanisms, but it is not required to do so by law. Washington has long maintained a policy called “strategic uncertainty” about whether or not it will intervene militarily in Taiwan’s defense in case of an attack from China.

Biden questioned that when asked by CNN’s Baltimore town hall on Thursday night if the United States would defend Taiwan if China attacked it. He replied “Yes,” and that he had a promise to.

A spokesperson for the White House stated that there had been no policy change and analysts felt it was an error of judgment by President Obama.

Jen Psaki spoke out for the White House when she was asked Friday at a news conference whether Biden intended to shift away from strategic uncertainty to provide an unambiguous statement regarding how the United States would react to Chinese aggression on Taiwan. Biden was not intending for a shift in policy. He has also not made any decision to alter our policy.

Psaki also stated that nobody wants to see crossstrait problems come to blows like President Biden and that there is no reason to.

Psaki claimed that the U.S. defense relations with Taiwan were guided by Taiwan Relations Act. This Act states Washington would continue to “assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient level of self-defense capability.”

The act also stated that Washington would consider any attempt to resolve Taiwan’s future by peaceful means as a threat and security to the Western Pacific, and be of great concern to America.

Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund of the United States called Biden’s comment a “gaffe”, and stated that it wasn’t true that Washington had made a promise to protect Taiwan.

“Some suggest a deliberate effort in sending unclear signals. But, it makes no sense to me. She said that a confused U.S. policy can weaken deterrence, and pointed out that Kurt Campbell (Biden’s Asia policy chief) had rejected strategic clarity over Taiwan.

Douglas Paal (another Taiwan expert), a former U.S. Representative in Taipei said that Biden was focusing at the town hall selling his domestic economic agenda.

Paal stated that despite his good reputation in foreign affairs, Paal can sometimes be distracted and sloppy. “The White House was right to issue a speedy ‘no-change-in-policy’ correction, because that is where policy is.”

Biden’s remarks come at awkward times, as White House officials prepare for a virtual meeting with Xi Jinping (Chinese leader). Sources claim that they want to show Washington how to manage tensions among the two superpowers.

China claims Taiwan is its self-rule, and has expressed dissatisfaction with the foreign ministry spokesperson who stated that Beijing does not have any room to make concessions about its core interests.

China urges United States to not send “the wrong signals to Taiwan Independence forces”, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China said.

Taiwan’s president office declared that Taiwan will not yield to pressure and “rashly progress” in the event it receives support.

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