Biden says US would defend Taiwan in ‘unprecedented attack’

US military forces will defend Taiwan if there is an “attack that has never happened before,” said President Joe Biden, underlining American commitment to the island when Chinese attacks increased near their beaches.

Biden, speaking in the “60 minute” interview which aired on Sunday, away from the question whether Taiwan was independent or must be independent, but was followed up with an appointment when asked by the interviewer Scott Pelley whether the US troops would “defend the island.”

Yes, if there is actually an attack that has never happened before,” he replied, according to the transcript provided by the announcer. However, he repeated earlier in an interview that the US “Chinese policy” has not changed.

We agree with what we signed for a long time. And there is one Chinese policy, and Taiwan made their own assessment of their independence. We didn’t move – we did not encourage them to be independent, “he said.” That’s their decision. “

Biden has made a similar statement before, spurring anger in Beijing by adding new chapters to the old Washington policy of “strategic ambiguity” when it came to Taiwan. In May, Biden said “yes” when asked whether the US is ready to become “involved in a military” if it must. “That’s the commitment we made,” he said at the time, before the White House official walked back his comments.

A US official said on Sunday that Biden had made the same point before and emphasized that US policy had not changed. The official responded to the “60 Minutes” interview on anonymous condition.

Since Biden made an initial comment in May, tensions with China have burned after the speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited the island to give a signal of support for its government and for democratic values. The White House is trying to manage the potential of the fall of the visit, which made China renew military training and missile launch in the Taiwan Strait.

The US announced the round of other weapons sales to Taiwan this month, with a total of more than $ 1 billion. “We have insisted on being committed to defending Taiwan and advancing him,” said a spokesman for the National Security Council John Kirby last week.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee also approved the bill on Wednesday to improve relations with Taiwan and provide more military hardware to prevent the Chinese invasion, although the final law needs to overcome the objections of the White House if it has the opportunity to become a law.Biden repeated the US financial commitment to Ukraine, said that support would continue “as long as it is needed.”

The US has given more than $ 15 billion of assistance to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, with Biden promising $ 600 million in additional weapons this month. The President of Ukraine on Sunday renewed a promise to reclaim all regions controlled by Russia, after recent profits in Kharkiv and other regions.

Asked whether Ukraine won, Biden said that “did not lose war” even though the massacre and destruction made him “difficult to count it as a win.”He warned President Vladimir Putin about the “consequence” response if Russia used chemical or tactical nuclear weapons in his war.This will be a consequence,” Biden said. “They will be more than paria in the world than before. And depending on what level they do will determine what response will happen. “