President Joe Biden’s statement that America would defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack naturally led to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin being asked the question in Brussels “Will the U.S. defend Taiwan if attacked by Beijing?”
“Well, nobody wants to see cross-strait issues come to blows, certainly not President Biden, and there’s no reason that it should. You’ve heard us say this a number of times, and I’ll say it again. We remain committed to our One China policy, in keeping with the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Assurances and the six communiqués,” Austin said, according to the Pentagon transcript (the TRA, the three U.S.-P.R.C. Joint Communiqués, and the Six Assurances, the DOD clarified in a footnote). “As we’ve done over multiple administrations, we’ll continue to help Taiwan with the sorts of capabilities that it needs to defend itself, and so we’ll stay focused on those things. And I won’t engage in any hypotheticals with respect to Taiwan.”
China’s response to Biden’s statement on Taiwan and the subsequent White House walkback, was not surprising. “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin during the ministry’s regular press briefing on Oct. 22. “The Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affairs that allow no foreign interference. On issues that bear on China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and other core interests, no one shall expect China to make any compromise or trade-offs. No one should underestimate the resolve, the will and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Do not stand on the opposite side of the 1.4 billion people. We urge the U.S. to earnestly abide by the one-China principle and stipulations in the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, be prudent with its words and actions on the Taiwan question, and avoid sending wrong signals to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, lest it should seriously damage China-U.S. relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.” (https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/t1916229.shtml)
