Visit to Tokyo, the American president displays his desire to counter Beijing’s ambitions and strengthens the links of the United States with the allied countries of the region.
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The first official visit of Joe Biden in Asia as president has two objectives: to show the intensity of relations between the United States and its allies in the region, and the determination of Washington to counter Chinese ambitions, including military . It is in this perspective that the remarks made by the American president must be understood, Monday May 23 in Tokyo.
Arrived Sunday in Japan after a first stage in South Korea, Joe Biden was questioned about Taiwan during a press conference in the company of the Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida. He expressed the will of the United States to defend the island in the event of Chinese aggression. “This is the commitment we have made,” he said. “China has no room for compromise or concessions” when it comes to its territorial integrity and sovereignty, reacted the spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Wang Wenbin.
The words of Joe Biden do not fall under a blunder or an excess of language, but rather the will of the administration to express his intentions more clearly, for two reasons. On the one hand, the uninhibited and aggressive ambitions of China in Indo-Pacific, behind the facade speeches on a multipolar world and the virtues of cooperation. On the other hand, questions about the capacities of the United States to deal with several simultaneous crises, in view of its political and military investment in support of Ukraine, against Russia. On this point, Joe Biden has also established a link between crises, stressing the need for long and firm sanctions against Russia. Otherwise, he said, “what signal would it send to China on the cost of an attempted Taiwan by force?”
“similar action” to Ukraine
However, a White House advisor had to quickly specify the President’s remarks, ensuring that this was not an abandonment of the strategic ambiguity, practiced by the United States in this file . Washington therefore continues to place its arms deliveries to the island as part of the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. An identical choreography had taken place in October 2021, when Joe Biden had participated in a public program broadcast on the CNN channel. He also mentioned “commitment” to defend Taiwan in the event of Chinese assault. The White House spokesperson Jen Psaki then assured that American policy remained unchanged.
Joe Biden himself reiterated, on the merits, the traditional line of the United States, consisting in accepting the idea of a single China. But the idea of taking Taiwan by force “would simply not be appropriate, said the president. This would lead to the dislocation of the whole region and would be an action similar to what happened in Ukraine. It is therefore an even heavier charge. “Joe Biden estimated that China” was already flirting with danger “, with military maneuvers near the island, which she considers a simple unruly province.
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