Biden on Taiwan: Bold or blooper?

The US president has caused confusion in vowing to offer military aid to Taiwan if necessary.  

Wake up, Sleepy Joe 

‘Strategic ambiguity’ has long been the name of the game for the US in its Taiwan policy. And this makes sense, if we don’t want things to get heated with China. And surely no one wants things to get heated with China, right? 

All that was kind of thrown out the window though, when President Biden responded to the press conference question, “Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?” with possibly the least ambiguous answer he could offer: “Yes.”   

Biden their time 

Despite the straight answer though, the US president caused more confusion than clarity with the response, which is in opposition to the long-held position the US has marked out. China considers the democratic island of Taiwan its territory under the “one China” principle, and sees it as a priority issue in its relationship with the States. Needless to say, it was pretty unhappy with Joe’s comments.  

You might be thinking: Where have we heard ‘one country considers another as its own territory’ before? And sure, Biden’s position may not have been a gaffe after all. Paired with the resolve of the US and Europe in the face of Putin’s stuttering invasion of Ukraine, Biden’s emboldened take might offer even more reason for China to think twice about a military operation to seize Taiwan.