President Joe Biden’s recent statement that the United States would militarily defend Taiwan from Chinese aggression, and the apparent walk back of that statement by the White House, has caused frustration and uncertainty among some lawmakers.
When asked during a 60 Minutes interview whether Biden would commit U.S. forces to defend Taiwan from an invasion by communist China, the president responded decisively.
“Yes,” Biden said. “If, in fact, there was an unprecedented attack.”
Immediately after Biden’s comment, the program ran a voiceover saying that a White House official said after the interview that “U.S. policy has not changed.” Officially, the United States maintains a policy of strategic ambiguity, in which it won’t say whether U.S. forces would defend Taiwan….