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US President Joe Biden (l) is received by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo
Photo: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS
China regards Taiwan as part of its People's Republic - and regularly threatens to conquer it.
Now US President Joe Biden has made it clear that he also wants to defend the island state militarily in the event of an attack from Beijing.
China has no right to take Taiwan by force, Biden emphasized at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo.
"It's a commitment we've made"
China has been provoking Taiwan with military maneuvers and reconnaissance flights near the island for months.
The People's Republic "flirts with danger," Biden said.
However, he does not assume that China will actually try to attack Taiwan.
When asked by a journalist whether the United States would also defend Taiwan militarily in the event of an attack, Biden said: "Yes." When asked by the reporter, Biden emphasized: "That is a commitment that we have made."
Taking Taiwan by force would destabilize the entire region and be similar to what happened in Ukraine, Biden said, referring to Russia's war of aggression.
"We remain committed to supporting cross-strait peace and stability and ensuring that there is no unilateral change in the status quo," Biden said, referring to the strait between mainland China and Taiwan.
Biden had already declared at the end of last year that the United States had an "obligation" to assist Taiwan in the event of an attack.
At the time, however, the White House immediately made it clear that this did not mean a departure from previous policies.
Relations with Taiwan are governed by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, a spokesman said.
Even now, the White House tried to quickly catch up with Biden's statements.
The US President repeated current US policy, it said, including the US understanding of helping the island nation to defend itself.
Open passage
The US has acknowledged Taiwan's ability to defend itself - which actually meant above all arms deliveries.
The question of military assistance in the event of an attack was deliberately left open because Beijing saw it as a violation of the "One China Doctrine".
Through this "strategic ambiguity," the US wanted to keep Beijing in the dark about what Washington would do in the event of war.
So far, the United States has reserved a formal declaration of military assistance in Asia for its close allies Japan and South Korea.
The US forces also maintain a military presence there.
mrc/dpa