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IPFS News Link • Taiwan

Taiwan and Our 'Feigned Ambiguity'

• by Patrick Macfarlane

That said, Biden's episodes of word salad have not prevented him from pledging to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion. In fact, since his presidency began, he has promised to do so at least three times.

These seemingly definitive statements did not add clarity to U.S. policy–which since 1979 has been described as "strategic ambiguity."

In August 2021, Biden stated that, much like a NATO Article 5 obligation, the U.S. has a "sacred" commitment to defend Taiwan.

A few months later, at an October 2021 CNN town hall, Biden was asked if the U.S. would defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack. He affirmed, stating "yes, we have a commitment to do that."

In May 2022, during his first presidential visit to Japan, Biden was asked if the U.S. would "get involved militarily" if China invaded Taiwan. Biden answered "yes…[t]hat's the commitment we made."

After each of these statements, White House staff swooped in to perform damage control, reiterating that U.S. policy has not departed from the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979–a piece of legislation that Biden himself voted to pass. Due in part to its vagueness, the law marked the beginning of "strategic ambiguity."


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