After President Biden said at a CNN town hall last night he would defend Taiwan from an attack by China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said there is “no room for compromise” on its territorial claims on the island.
The latest trading of barbs between the U.S. and China over Taiwan comes just a few weeks after China seized on the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan to bolster its propaganda against Taiwan. Since then, China has become increasingly aggressive in its incursions into Taiwanese airspace.
“China, Russia, and the rest of the world knows we have the most powerful military in the history of the world. Don’t worry about whether we’re going to – they’re going to be more powerful,” Biden said in the CNN town hall. “What you do have to worry about is whether or not they’re going to engage in activities that will put them in a position where they may make a serious mistake.”
President Biden waves as he and first lady Jill Biden walk on the South Lawn of the White House after stepping off Marine One, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Further pushed about whether the United States would defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack, Biden added: “Yes. Yes, we have a commitment to do that.”
BIDEN PLEDGES TO DEFEND TAIWAN IF CHINA ATTACKS
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson responded to that comment early Friday morning via the Chinese state-affiliated Global Times.
“No one should underestimate the strong resolve, determination and capability of the Chinese people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the spokesperson said, according to the mouthpiece for the brutal communist regime. “China has no room for compromise.”
In this photo provided by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President and party leader Xi Jinping delivers a speech at a ceremony marking the centenary of the ruling Communist Party in Beijing, China, Thursday, July 1, 2021. China and the United States are in a standoff over the future of Taiwan. (Li Xueren/Xinhua via AP)
(Li Xueren/Xinhua via AP)
The Global Times added that China’s foreign ministry told the U.S. to “be cautious in words and deeds” and to “refrain from sending any wrong signal to secessionists.”
A White House spokesperson told Fox News after the town hall that Biden “was not announcing any change in our policy and there is no change in our policy.”
“The U.S. defense relationship with Taiwan is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act,” the spokesperson said. “We will uphold our commitment under the Act, we will continue to support Taiwan’s self-defense, and we will continue to oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo.”
The Biden administration has aimed to compartmentalize its relationship with China – competing in some respects while seeking cooperation on other issues, like climate change. But it has made clear for months that the United States will defend Taiwan, which is a democratic island off the coast of China.
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“We have an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. We consider this central to the security and stability of the broader Indo-Pacific region,” a senior administration official told Fox News in August, as China aimed to seize on the Afghanistan withdrawal to intimidate Taiwan.
“We will uphold our commitment under [Taiwan Relations Act], we will continue support Taiwan’s self-defense, and we will continue to oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo,” the official said.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
