During an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken dodged answering a question on if the United States would defend Taiwan if China tries to invade the country.
“Has the U.S. committed directly to the Taiwanese government that it will come to Taiwan’s defense if China invades?” Bash asked.
Blinken responded, “We’ve had a longstanding commitment that, by the way, then-Senator Biden strongly supported when he was in the United States Senate, a longstanding commitment pursuant to the Taiwan Relations Act to make sure that Taiwan has the means to defend itself, and we stand by that. The president stood by that strongly, and we want to make sure that no one takes any unilateral action that would disrupt the status quo with regard to Taiwan. That hasn’t changed”.
“Can you clarify what that exactly means?” Bash asked. “Are you now saying that the United States would not come to Taiwan’s defense if attacked? Can you be specific, yes or no?”
“What I can tell you is that we remain committed, resolutely committed, to our responsibilities under the Taiwan Relations Act, including making sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself from any aggression,” Blinken said.
“Okay. Just one more follow on that. The president said specifically that the U.S. would. That’s not what you’re saying, correct?” Bash asked.
“The president has for a long time, including when he was a senator voting for the Taiwan Relations Act, made clear that we will do everything necessary to make sure that Taiwan has the means to defend itself,” Blinken said.
Blinken’s comments come weeks after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen warned that the country is strengthening its military to protect its sovereignty against Communist China.
“We will continue to bolster our national defense and demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves in order to ensure that nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us,” Tsai said. “This is because the path that China has laid out offers neither a free and democratic way of life for Taiwan, nor sovereignty for our 23 million people.”
