US President Joe Biden on Saturday affirmed his willingness to protect the US’ allies and reiterated that peace in the Taiwan Strait should be upheld, as Washington again called on Beijing to restrain itself after it conducted two-day military drills around Taiwan.
“I’ve always been willing to use force when required to protect our nation, our allies, our core interests. When anyone targets American troops, we will deliver justice to them,” Biden said in a speech to cadets graduating from the US Military Academy in West Point, New York.
He touted US security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, including the AUKUS security pact with Australia and the UK, trilateral cooperation with Japan and South Korea, and recent engagement with Japan and the Philippines.
Photo: Reuters
The US also elevated the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Australia, India and Japan to support a “free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Biden said.
“We’re standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
Thanks to US military forces, the country is able to defend its values “by standing up to tyrants,” he said.
“Anyone who thinks they can threaten us, think again,” he added.
On the same day as Biden’s address, the US Department of State issued a statement to “strongly urge Beijing to act with restraint” after its drills around Taiwan.
After President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on Monday, Beijing said his speech was an attempt to promote Taiwanese independence, in particular his statement that Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are not subordinate to one another.
On Thursday and Friday, China conducted a large-scale military exercise, codenamed “Joint Sword-2024A,” around Taiwan, sparking concern and condemnation among the international community.
The US was “deeply concerned” about the military drills in the Strait and around Taiwan, US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said.
“We are monitoring PRC activities closely and coordinating with allies and partners regarding our shared concerns,” Miller said.
Beijing is “using a normal, routine, and democratic transition as an excuse for military provocations,” he said, adding that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait “is critical for regional and global security and prosperity.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement yesterday thanked Biden and the US government for supporting Taiwan.
At a time when democracies around the globe are facing challenges, like-minded partners have unanimously demanded that China exercise restraint, stop coercing Taiwan and cease any actions that undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said.
The international community would not approve of Beijing’s attempts to blatantly interfere with Taipei’s democratic process, and would consider them provocative actions that aim to disrupt the “status quo,” it said.
The ministry called on China to resume exchanges and dialogue with Taiwan based on the principles of equality and dignity, and to jointly safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Meanwhile, a group of US representatives, led by Republican Michael McCaul, who chairs the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, yesterday arrived in Taipei.
The delegation includes Republicans Young Kim, Joe Wilson and Andy Barr, and Democrats Jimmy Panetta and Chrissy Houlahan, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement.
Their four-day visit to Taiwan is part of a trip to the wider Indo-Pacific region, the AIT said.
The six representatives would be the first group of serving US officials to meet with Lai after his inauguration and China’s two-day drills.
“I think it’s very important that we show our strong support for Taiwan. I think it is a deterrent,” McCaul told NBC News before arriving in Taiwan.
Additional reporting by CNA
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS