The latest statements by the US president on Taiwan did not go unnoticed in China, which did not take long to once again express its dissent over foreign interference in the island’s affairs. In recent days, Beijing had strongly condemned the non-binding resolution passed by the European Parliament to strengthen ties with Taiwan, calling it a violation of the one China principle.
During a debate on CNN, Joe Biden had stated that the US will defend Taiwan in the event of an attack by Beijing, stating that “We have a commitment to do so.” The island has repeatedly expressed concerns over the growing military and political pressure from the Chinese government to accept its sovereignty. Biden then reiterated that Washington has a “sacred commitment” in defending allies in Canada and Europe, without exception also in “Japan, South Korea and Taiwan”.
Today, October 22, came the reply from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which urged the United States to avoid sending wrong signals to supporters of Taiwan’s independence. The country then invited the US to be cautious, assuring that on the sovereignty of the island “there is no room for compromise” especially when it comes to “its main interests”, said the spokesman of the ministry Wang Wenbin, in a daily briefing to Beijing. “We urge the United States to seriously respect the ‘One China’ principle and the three joint China-US communiques, to be cautious in word and deed on the Taiwan issue and to refrain from sending wrong signals to secessionists, so as not to seriously damage bilateral relations, as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait ”. “Nobody should underestimate the strong determination, firm will and solid ability of the Chinese people to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he concluded.
On the part of the US, however, this is not a change of strategy. As a White House official soon pointed out, the president was not “announcing any changes in our policy” and “there are no changes in our policy.” The relationship between the United States and Taiwan is, in fact, already regulated by the “Taiwan Relations Act” which the White House assures us “We will continue to comply. We will continue to support Taiwan’s self-defense and we will continue to oppose any unilateral change in the status quo ”.
The words of the American president aroused anger on the one hand and appreciation on the other: “The United States has shown rock-solid support for Taiwan since Biden’s arrival in January,” said Taiwanese presidency spokesman Xavier Chang. . Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng had recently expressed concern about the military tensions between the island and China, according to him the worst in the last 40 years, and that the country would be able to organize an invasion “On a large scale” by 2025.
Tensions with the United States had already escalated in recent days. China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, had recently rejected the statements of the future US ambassador, Nicholas Burns, who in the confirmation hearing in the US Senate – after criticizing Beijing for the repression in Tibet, Hong Kong and against the Uighurs in Xinjiang – had defended the US right to maintain assistance in Taiwan. Burns’ remarks have been called “typical of the Cold War mentality and seriously inconsistent with the facts,” Beijing Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said. “The Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong issues are internal China issues and no foreign force can interfere,” the spokesman said. China had urged Burns to have “an objective understanding of the current situation and to look at China’s development and relations with the United States in a rational way and never underestimate the strong determination of the Chinese people to defend their rights”.
Biden replied to these statements on Thursday, declaring: “I don’t want a cold war with China. I just want China to understand that we will not take a step back, that we will not change any of our opinions ».