United States President Joe Biden recently vowed to protect Taiwan in case China opts to conduct any incursion on the former's territory during a CNN town hall on Thursday night amid rising tensions with Russia.
When asked whether or not the United States would deploy forces to defend Taiwan in case Beijing ordered an attack, the Democrat said, "Yes, we have a commitment to do that." During the event, Biden had been asked about the country's stance regarding China's recent testing of hypersonic missile technology.
Growing International Tensions
In response, the Democratic president reassured the public not to worry whether or not the Chinese arsenals were powerful. Biden argued that everyone around the world knew that America had the strongest military force of any nation.
When asked regarding a potential new cold war with China, Biden dismissed the idea that the United States was seeking to start another confrontation with Beijing. He argued that he did not want another cold war with China, saying he only wanted officials from the Asian country to understand that America would not back down or change its views, Fox News reported.
The situation comes as European Union legislators voted unanimously in favor of trade talks with Taiwan and other measures that flout China's claims to sovereignty over the island nation. This has left Beijing officials in discontent with the tension between Western democracies and the communist regime.
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the recent announcements were "vile in nature" and had an "egregious impact." The official gave a warning to other authorities, saying they should not underestimate the Chinese people's" determination, will, and capacity to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity."
In recent months, the relationship between China and the European Parliament has deteriorated as the latter continued to criticize Beijing's alleged human rights abuses against minority Uighurs. In response, China has stopped a major EU-China investment deal, Yahoo News reported.
Russia Under Threat?
Additionally, Biden's show of support for Taiwan against China comes as the United States is facing backlash from Russia for backing military development in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin considered the act as a serious threat to Russia, two days after the U.S. defense secretary staged a show of support for Kyiv and encouraged its aspiration to join NATO.
Putin said that Lloyd Austin's visit to Ukraine on Tuesday effectively paved the way for Kyiv to join. The Russian president said that whether it did or not, his country's interests were targeted. "Formal membership (of Ukraine) in NATO may not take place, but military development of the territory is already underway. And this really poses a threat to Russia. We are aware of that," Putin said, Reuters reported.
Since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, the United States has been Ukraine's most powerful supporter. It was also the same year when a war between Russian separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine began which resulted in the death of 14,000 people.
This week, Russia effectively severed all diplomatic relations with NATIO after eight members were kicked out of its mission for alleged espionage. On Thursday, NATO defense ministers agreed on a new master plan to defend against any possible Russian attack.
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