China expert Chas Freeman spoke out in response to President Joe Biden’s statement in Japan that the U.S. would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan in the event that Beijing took military action against the island.
“The Chinese cannot ignore this statement, which is worse than a gaffe, because it provides China with a casus belli,” the former ambassador told the Asia Times. “This is the fourth time this year that the White House has sought to walk back statements by the president committing the United States to go to war with China over Taiwan. Such walk-backs have zero credibility in Beijing, not least because they echo an apparent consensus in the Washington establishment that is reflected in defense budgets and force structure decisions.”
“Biden’s pledge to defend Taiwan militarily contradicts the Taiwan Relations Act,” explained Freeman. “Absent a vote in Congress to authorize war with China, he has no constitutional authority to make the commitment he just seemed to. But the Chinese are unlikely to be persuaded by constitutional niceties, especially given the rubber stamp Congress now puts on presidential war-making.”
