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Tokyo (CBS News) — President Joe Biden said Monday the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan, in one of the most forceful & overt statements of American government support for Taiwan in decades. Mr. Biden said the burden to protect the self-ruled island was "even stronger" after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Mr. Biden was asked, "Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?"
He replied, simply, "Yes."
"That's the commitment we made," Mr. Biden said. "We agree with a 'One China' policy. We signed onto it & all the attendant agreements made from there. But the idea that it [Taiwan] could be taken by force, just taken by force, it's just not — it's just not appropriate. It'll dislocate the entire region & be another action similar to what happened in in Ukraine. And so it's, it's a burden that is even stronger."
The president then said U.S. "policy towards Taiwan has not changed at all," stressing his government's commitment to "the peace & stability across the Taiwan Strait & ensuring that there's no unilateral change to the status quo."
Mr. Biden said it was his "expectation" that China would not try to seize control of Taiwan by force, but he added that "a lot of it depends upon just how strong the world makes clear that that kind of action is going to result in long term disapprobation by the rest of the [international] community."
The president said Beijing was "flirting with danger" with recent military flights close to Taiwan.
Beijing was quick to respond, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin warning: "No one should underestimate the firm resolve, staunch will & strong ability of the Chinese people in defending national sovereignty & territorial integrity."
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