Biden U S forces would defend Taiwan if China invaded
Biden: U.S. forces would defend Taiwan if China invaded
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Biden U S forces would defend Taiwan if China' s military invaded
Soldiers lower the Taiwanese flag during a ceremony at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, in August. Photo: Lam Yik Fei/Bloomberg via Getty Images President in an interview Sunday that American forces would defend Taiwan if China's military invaded the self-governing island — prompting the White House to stress that U.S. policy hasn't changed on the matter. Driving the news: Biden said during an interview with CBS' "" airing Sunday that U.S. forces would defend the democratically run island "if in fact there was an unprecedented attack."A White House official said after the interview that the U.S. government's long-running policy of "strategic ambiguity" on Taiwan had not changed, per CBS News. The big picture: Biden has on said American forces from a Chinese military attack.Each time, White House officials stressed that U.S. policy that considers Taiwan as part of "one China" hadn't changed. Context: Under this policy, the U.S. opposes any attempts to change the island's self-governing, democratic status by force. Worth noting: Biden emphasized during his "60 Minutes" interview, recorded before he flew to the U.K. to attend funeral, that his administration agreed with the long-standing U.S. "one-China" policy."Taiwan makes their own judgments about their independence," he said. "We're not encouraging their being independent." What they're saying: "The President has said this before, including in Tokyo earlier this year," a White House spokesperson said in to news outlets. "He also made clear then that our Taiwan policy hasn't changed. That remains true." Meanwhile, Taipei's Foreign Ministry thanked Biden, emphasizing the "U.S. government's rock-solid security commitment to Taiwan," . State of play: China's ruling Communist Party did not immediately respond to Biden's comments, but tensions between Beijing and Washington have been heightened since House Speaker Taiwan last month. by holding live-fire drills near Taiwan. have since then, despite if American officials continued to visit Taiwan. More from Axios: Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.