US President Joe Biden, visiting Japan, speaks during a press conference after the US-Japan summit at the State Guest House in Akasaka, Tokyo, on the 23rd. Tokyo = AFP Yonhap News
As China strongly opposed US President Joe Biden’s remarks that the US could intervene in an emergency to defend Taiwan in an emergency, the US government hastily settled it, saying, “The ‘one China’ policy has not changed.” went to
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a press briefing after a meeting of the Defense Council of the Ukrainian Supporters on the 23rd (local time), “As the president said, the ‘one China’ policy of the United States has not changed. I didn’t,” he replied. “The President reiterated our promise to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he said. In response to a follow-up question that pointed out that ‘according to the Taiwan Relations Act, the US promises to provide the necessary resources, but military intervention is not necessary’, Secretary Austin said, “I think the president has made it clear that that policy has not changed.” repeated
At a press conference held after the US-Japan summit on the same day, President Biden, who was visiting Japan earlier, said, “Yes, that is our promise.” He also added that China is “doing something recklessly dangerous” to the armed protests around Taiwan and “will throw the entire region into chaos and will have a reaction similar to that of Ukraine.” The remarks were interpreted as meaning that the US could intervene in Taiwan in case of emergency, causing considerable controversy.
The United States is sweating hard to rectify the wave. After Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, said, “We have a variety of contingency plans, all of which are classified as confidential,” adding that “discussing these issues publicly is inappropriate.” interpretation was limited. When asked if he would support the military in Taiwan in an emergency, he declined to comment, saying, “When the time comes, we will give timely advice to the president and the defense minister.” Earlier, the White House also hurriedly clarified after Biden’s remarks, saying, “President Biden has reaffirmed the United States’ ‘one China’ policy and Taiwan’s commitment to peace and stability.
However, China’s anger has hardly subsided. “Taiwan is an indivisible part of China’s territory, and the Taiwan issue completely belongs to China’s internal affairs and we do not tolerate outside interference,” said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. ” he warned. In a statement in the name of a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of China, the Chinese State Council also criticized the US using Taiwanese cards to deter China.
Kim Pyo-hyang reporter suzak@hankookilbo.com