In veiled warning to China, Joe Biden says US would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan

US President Joe Biden today said on Monday he would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan and that the United States stands with other nations to make sure China cannot use force in Taiwan, in one of the most forceful and overt statements in support of Taiwan in decades. He added that China is flirting with danger in Taiwan by flying close to the island. 

Biden said the burden to protect the self-ruled island was “even stronger” after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo, Biden said, “That’s the commitment we made.” He said an effort by China to use force against Taiwan would “just not be appropriate," saying it “will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine.”

Under the “One China” policy, the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the government of China and doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, it maintains unofficial contacts with Taiwan, including a de facto embassy in Taipei, the capital. The U.S. also supplies military equipment for the island’s defense.

“We agreed with the One China policy, we signed on to it... but the idea that it can be taken by force is just not appropriate,” he said. 

Biden, on his first trip to Asia since taking office, is visiting the region as concern grows about China's assertiveness and reach across security and supply chains.

President Joe Biden also Russia "has to pay a long-term price" for its "barbarism in Ukraine" in terms of sanctions imposed on Moscow by the United States and its allies.

He said that if, after any future rapprochement between Russia and Ukraine, "the sanctions are not continued to be sustained in many ways, then what signal does that send to China about the cost of attempting to take Taiwan by force?"

The US President also endorsed Japan's plan to beef up its defence capabilities as he and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida committed to working closely to counter China's growing influence in Asia.