US defending Taiwan in case of a Chinese attack

Ross Feingold

Inserted 1 year ago

“American officials will probably emphasise over the coming hours that Biden's comments meant the US would provide military equipment in the event of China's invasion of Taiwan. If he can have a do-over he'd probably change the way he replied to that question. Unfortunately, it causes a lot of confusion not just here in Taiwan, but in the United States as well as with China.”

Aljazeera

Asia political risk analyst based in Taipei

23 May 2022 5 3

Wen-Ti Sung

Inserted 1 year ago

“This is both a useful 'slip of tongue' and a revealing reflection of a widely shared assumption within the US government. Biden has done this multiple times before, be it at the CNN Townhall in early 2021, or his statement about the non-existent 'Taiwan agreement,'. This time Biden's statement itself seems illogical but the sentiment and signal it sends are politically very useful.”

Aljazeera

Political scientist who teaches at Australian National University’s Taiwan Studies Program

23 May 2022 4 3

Matthew Kroenig

Inserted 1 year ago

“Some say it's a carefully coordinated campaign of ambiguity. Others say that Biden is senile and misspoke. I would argue that at this point the reason doesn't really matter. In the event of a war, it would always be up to the president to decide whether to intervene or not regardless of the formal policy. We now have a clear window on what Biden's decision would be. For years, US strategists argued the ambiguity was a good thing. It kept Beijing guessing but was not an explicit threat to intervene in what the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] would see as its internal affairs. As the US-China relationship has deteriorated, and the military balance in the Taiwan Strait shifted, many US strategists have called for the US to clarify its commitment.”

Aljazeera

Deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

23 May 2022 8 3

Bonnie Glaser

Inserted 2 years ago

“I think the Chinese would be ill-advised to assume that if the United States did not intervene militarily in a Ukraine crisis, that means the United States would not intervene militarily in a Taiwan crisis. They really are different.”

Nytimes

Director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States

16 Dec 2021 4 5

Christian Whiton

Inserted 2 years ago

“Taiwan needs to stand up for itself. In so doing, it will help convince more Americans that the country will defend itself from a Chinese attack. That in turn will increase the odds of American support and decrease the chances of an assault from Beijing ever occurring. Taiwan should also be more like Israel, a strong ally of the United States that nonetheless seldom fails to speak up when Washington does something Israel deems adverse to its national security. Israel can rely on strong congressional support from both political parties, even though its support from left-wing Democrats has waned.”

Taiwannews

Former State Department senior advisor in the George W. Bush and Trump administrations

23 Nov 2021 6 4

Taipei Times

Inserted 2 years ago

“While some people have questioned whether Washington's actions over the past year have convinced anyone that it would get involved in a Taiwan-China conflict, it is noteworthy that the US' Indo-Pacific strategy hinges upon the integrity of the first island chain. The fall of Taiwan would put US bases in Japan, South Korea and Guam at risk, and would make US allies in the region question its ability and resolve to protect its interests. Therefore, there should be no question that despite its official stance of maintaining 'strategic ambiguity', the US is exceedingly likely to use its military to defend Taiwan. It would also not be alone in doing so, with Australia, Japan and South Korea likely to join, bolstered by the forces in Taiwan itself, which the US has been training and equipping.”

Taipeitimes

Editorial piece by Taipei Times

20 Nov 2021 10 7

Antony Blinken

Inserted 2 years ago

“At the same time, I think it's fair to say that we're not alone in this determination to make sure that we preserve peace and stability in that part of the world. There are many countries, both in the region and beyond, that would see any unilateral action to use force to disrupt the status quo as a significant threat to peace and security, and they too would take action in the event that that happens.”

Taipeitimes

U.S. Secretary of State

11 Nov 2021 4 3

Antony Blinken

Inserted 2 years ago

“There is no change in our policy. We've had a long-standing commitment that, by the way, then-senator Biden strongly supported when he was in the United States Senate, a long-standing commitment pursuant to the Taiwan Relations Act to make sure that Taiwan has the means to defend itself, and we stand by that. The president stood by that strongly, and we want to make sure that no one takes any unilateral action that would disrupt the 'status quo' with regard to Taiwan. That hasn't changed.”

Taipeitimes

U.S. Secretary of State

31 Oct 2021 3 3

Global Times

Inserted 2 years ago

“This is the true situation of the Taiwan Straits: First, the mainland doesn't want to fight a war. It has the goodwill to seek peaceful reunification and take war as the last resort. Second, the DPP [Democratic Progressive Party] dares not fight. They are bluffing, but know very well that the island's military forces are weak. They cannot withstand even a single blow. If there is a war, Taiwan will be surely defeated and collapse. Third, the US cannot fight. Should it not go into a war there, the Taiwan Straits will be Washington's leverage to contain the mainland. Otherwise, the Straits will become the grave of American soldiers. The US will suffer heavy losses instead of making gains.”

Globaltimes

Editorial piece by Global Times

26 Oct 2021 7 5

Global Times

Inserted 2 years ago

“Biden does not have the political authority to announce that the US military will 'defend Taiwan' when a war breaks out, nor does he have the confidence to have a strategic collision with the Chinese mainland in the Taiwan Straits to support Taiwan secessionists until a desperate fight erupts, and make the Americans bear the risk of a bottomless war for Taiwan island. So, even if he dared to make a slip of the tongue, he would dare not really think so from the bottom of his heart.”

Globaltimes

Editorial piece by Global Times

22 Oct 2021 6 6

Xiang Lu

Inserted 2 years ago

“So far, not a single US government official has spelt what 'defending Taiwan' means if done by the US. Does it mean sending US troops to confront the PLA [People's Liberation Army]? No one has ever explained in detail. Ambiguity still exists, and no one dares to explain it clearly. Even if China is not yet a lion, it is at least a strong bull today. The US said it would engage China from a position of strength. China can totally say exactly the same.”

Globaltimes

Specialist on US affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

22 Oct 2021 5 7

Kathleen Hicks

Inserted 2 years ago

“It's something we watch very carefully [potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan]. If you're out, the Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, you're watching it day to day, we have a significant amount of capability forward in the region to tamp down any such potential. We have good relations, of course, with Taiwan. We have commitments to Taiwan that are enduring since the 1970s. And central to that is helping the Taiwanese with their self-defense capabilities. That's really important.”

Csis

United States deputy secretary of defense

01 Oct 2021 4 3

Timothy Heath

Inserted 3 years ago

“If Taiwan can build these submarines - and admittedly that is a big if given the island's complete inexperience in manufacturing advanced submarines - these could be fairly advanced and effective. Taiwan's determination to build submarines and invest in its own defense makes it easier for US officials to politically justify helping an island under attack from China since Taiwan is doing what it can to defend itself. By contrast, a Taiwan that did nothing to improve its self-defense capabilities would make it far harder politically for US officials to justify an intervention. Absent any US intervention it is very probable that China would eventually find a way to suppress most or all of the subs.”

Cnn

Senior international defense researcher at the RAND Corp think tank in Washington

20 Dec 2020 4 6

Jack Keane

Inserted 3 years ago

“What’s ambiguous is whether we will defend Taiwan or not. I believe, this administration has been the strongest supporter of Taiwan since the enactment of that treaty [Taiwan Relations Act]. I also believe that we should take away the ambiguity and declare that we would defend Taiwan with our allies and create a bona fide deterrent. What we want do is prevent wars by our willingness to go to war, and that has been a proven principle that we used for dealing with the Soviet Union for 40 years.”

Taiwannews

Retired American four-star General

16 Oct 2020 3 2

Wang Zaixi

Inserted 3 years ago

“The recent combat exercises of the PLA Eastern Theater Command in the Taiwan Straits are aimed at dealing with the current situation. The duration, scale and level of these exercises are unprecedented. Their purpose is to deter Taiwan independence forces and to issue a stern warning to the Democratic Progressive Party authorities; that is, if they think they can do whatever they want with the support and protection of the US, and dare to take a crucial step on the path of pursuing Taiwan independence, the Chinese mainland will be forced to take military actions to solve the Taiwan question, bringing disaster to Taiwan compatriots.”

Globaltimes

Retired major general and former deputy director of the Beijing-based Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits

02 Oct 2020 6 5

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“I think the Chinese would be ill-advised to assume that if the United States did not intervene militarily in a Ukraine crisis, that means the United States would not intervene militarily in a Taiwan crisis. They really are different.”

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