President Joe Biden’s repeated pledges that the United States would come to Taiwan’s defense in the case of a Chinese attack—only for White House officials to walk back on his statements each time—gives off the impression to America’s adversaries that the Biden administration “doesn’t have its act together,” said one analyst.
On May 23, Biden said that Washington had a “commitment” to militarily defend Taiwan from invasion—breaking from the United States’ long-standing policy of strategic deterrence under which the administration is deliberately vague on what it would do in such a scenario. This is the third time he has made such a statement since August 2021. Each time, administration officials confirmed later that U.S. policy had not changed….