White House Scrambles After Biden's Remark To Defend Taiwan If China Attacks; Pentagon Makes an Apparent Error About the Critical Issue

On Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki seemed to backtrack on President Joe Biden's Thursday comments that the US was committed to supporting Taiwan if it was attacked by China.

Biden Vowed To Defend Taiwan If China Attacks Became Controversial

In a recently published article in Newsweek, President Joe Biden seemed to commit to the protection of Taipei if Beijing attacked, prompting the White House to hustle to explain his remarks. The first apparent error occurred at a CNN town hall on Thursday evening, when Biden answered questions.

An unambiguous vow to protect Taiwan would remove decades of strategic uncertainty. The United States has neither affirmed nor denied its preparedness to assist Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. This led the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki to clarify the answer of Biden.

Following Biden's discussion of the military strength of the United States and his personal experience with Chinese President Xi Jinping, presenter Anderson Cooper interjected to clarify the president's response, asking whether the United States is committed to defending Taiwan if China attacked. "Yes," said POTUS definitely, according to a report published in Daily Advent.

Pentagon Commits An Apparent Error About the Critical Issue

Biden's remarks, as well as the unexpected pivot, sparked outrage and bewilderment on social media. However, only hours later, at a meeting of the US-led NATO Western military alliance in Brussels, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an apparent blunder of his own while attempting to convey the US stance on the vital topic.

Austin said, "Nobody wants to see cross-strait issues come to blows, certainly not President Biden, and there's no reason that it should. You've heard us say this a number of times, and I'll say it again. We remain committed to our One China Policy, in keeping with the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Assurances, and the Six Communiques," according to a published report in VOA News.

Moreover, Austin was actually referring to "the three U.S.-PRC Joint Communiqués" that set the stage for the relationship between Washington and Beijing after 1979 and the "Six Assurances," which promise long-term support for Taipei, albeit through informal channels, according to a note in the Pentagon's own transcript of the comments.

White House Press Secretary Released a Statement

During a White House press conference, Psaki said that the president is not announcing any policy changes and has not decided to alter policy. The Taiwan Relations Act governs the country's military connection with Taiwan, per Reuters reports.

According to the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, the United States will give Taiwan armaments to retain an adequate self-defense capacity. It does not state that the US would intervene militarily to defend Taiwan if China attacked it.

Psaki repeated that Biden's position has not changed when questioned by a news source if the president just misspoke or was sending a signal to Beijing. She reiterated Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's earlier Friday remarks in an apparent effort to defuse rising tensions after the president's statement.