Biden says US would defend Taiwan if attacked by China

US President suggests he would intervene in a Chinese invasion in apparent break with decades-long policy

US President Joe Biden has said he would use force to defend Taiwan if it was attacked by China, appearing to signal a shift away from Washington’s decades-long policy of so-called strategic ambiguity towards the East Asian democracy, Qazet.az reports.

Biden made the remarks on Monday while visiting Japan, where he is on the second leg of his first trip to East Asia since taking office last year.

Responding to a reporter’s questions about Taiwan at a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden said defending Taiwan was a “commitment we made”.

He said while the US agrees with the “one China policy” – which states there is a single China but does not define it – the idea that “Taiwan can be taken by force” is “not appropriate”.

Neither, he said, is “another action similar to what happened in Ukraine”.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it welcomed Biden’s comments for “reaffirming” Washington’s “firm commitment to Taiwan” and would deepen cooperation with countries including the US and Japan.