Biden said US would defend Taiwan

During a “CBS 60 Minutes” interview, US President Biden said US military forces would defend Taiwan if there was “an unprecedented attack.  Biden was interviewed by Scott Pelley earlier and the interview was aired on September 18.  Asked to clarify if he meant that unlike in Ukraine, US forces — American men and women — would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, Biden replied: “Yes.”  In response to the question of whether Taiwan is or should be independent, he reiterated earlier in the interview that the US’s “One China policy” had not changed.   “We agree with what we signed onto a long time ago. And that there’s One China policy, and Taiwan makes their own judgments about their independence. We are not moving -- we’re not encouraging their being independent,” he said. “That’s their decision.”    Biden’s statement was clearer than previous ones about committing US troops to defend the nation.  The tension between Taiwan and China was rising following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visited Taiwan in August.  China tried to intimidate Taiwan by firing missiles into the surrounding waters and flying fighter jets nearby.  The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on September 14 approved “Taiwan Policy Acts”, a bill that would formally designate Taiwan a “major non-NATO ally” and sell it more military hardware.  In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “sincere gratitude” to Biden for “affirming the US government’s rock-solid promise of security to Taiwan.” and also emphasized that Taiwan would continue to boost its self-defense capabilities.  Biden’s statement signaled an end to the debate over “US’ strategic ambiguity or strategic clarity” .