He corrects the shot. Joe Biden assured Tuesday that he did not want to encourage the independence of Taiwan, in order to clarify new ambiguous remarks which could have constituted a departure from the traditional position of the United States on the subject of the island claimed by China.
Asked by journalists, during a trip to the state of New Hampshire, on possible progress on the question of Taiwan during his virtual summit on Monday with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the American president replied by l ‘affirmative.
” Yes. We made it very clear that we support the Taiwan Act and that’s it, ”he said.
The Taiwan Relations Act is a law adopted in 1979 by the American Congress, which governs American policy in this area: namely that Washington undertakes to recognize only one China, while providing arms to Taiwan for its self-defense. . But Joe Biden also added, appearing to be talking about Taiwan: “He’s independent. He makes his own decisions ”.
No policy change
This formulation risked angering Beijing, while President Xi warned during their virtual meeting that working for the independence of the island was like “playing with fire”. “We are not promoting independence. We encourage them to do exactly what the Taiwan Act provides, ”the US president then clarified. “I said they have to make their decisions about Taiwan, not us. “
Joe Biden also assured once again that the United States did not intend “at all to change” policy. On Monday evening, he warned that Washington “firmly” opposes any “unilateral attempt to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait” – a phrase that can just as well address the Taiwanese leadership.
The Democratic leader had already sown trouble in October by asserting that Washington had a “commitment” to militarily defend Taipei in the event of a Chinese attack. He thus seemed to break with the traditional “strategic ambiguity” of the United States in the name of which they had never made it clear whether they would intervene in the event of an invasion of the island by Beijing – a way of keeping the peace. by discouraging the Taiwanese rulers from proclaiming formal independence.
The White House had already had to correct the situation by ensuring that there should be no change in strategy.