The relations between China and The United States have been increasingly rocky, and that’s putting it lightly. Other countries, like Australia and Japan, have been preparing for a war between the nations but Biden claims everything is suddenly resolved?
China recently threatened to crush anyone who dared to get in the way of their plans to dominate Taiwan. Which, The United States and Taiwan enjoy a robust unofficial relationship and close cooperation on a wide range of issues. Maintaining strong, unofficial relations with Taiwan is a major U.S. goal, in line with the U.S. desire to further peace and stability in Asia.
In short, Taiwan is unofficially under the protection of the United States and that threat from China was mostly directed towards the US.
“I’ve spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree we will abide by the Taiwan agreement. That’s where we are and I made it clear that I don’t think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement,” Biden told reporters.
The Taiwan Relations Act, one of several planks undergirding the current diplomatic relationship between the U.S., China and Taiwan, was passed by Congress in 1979 in order to “maintain peace, security, and stability in the Western Pacific” by maintaining “friendly commercial, cultural, and other relations” between Washington and Taipei.
The law maintains unofficial, nondiplomatic relations between Taiwan and the U.S., allowing for it to be treated as a foreign country without being officially recognized.
It also hinged the establishment of future U.S.-China diplomatic relations on the understanding that Taiwan’s future would be determined peacefully.”
So let’s unpack this for a second…
Do you notice of ‘unofficial’ seems to be the underlining theme of this story? It’s because there isn’t an official agreement between Taiwan and any nation. So when Biden says China agrees to honor the Taiwan agreement what the hell is he referring to? There isn’t a ‘Taiwan Agreement’.
Tensions between Taiwan and China are at a 40-year high and there’s no doubt that this is a dangerous situation that calls for competent leadership from the White House — and Biden’s comment suggests that is in short supply.
Just take a look at the report by National Review:
“China experts were vexed by Biden’s comments for one simple reason: There is no “Taiwan agreement” with Beijing. The U.S. does adhere to a One China policy, according to which it acknowledges that the People’s Republic claims Taiwan as part of its territory, but Washington does not recognize the Chinese claim.
The U.S. One China policy is based, in addition to a number of other statements and legislation, on a series of communiques issued with Beijing in which Washington offers up this careful language. This is, however, different from any sort of agreement with China.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party attempts to package its claim over Taiwan as a “One China principle,” to which it attempts to hold the rest of the world, including the United States. That attempt to falsely conflate the U.S. policy with China’s claims is deliberately intended to confuse foreigners into pushing Beijing’s line.”
It seems more like Biden has no idea what the hell he is talking about.
Erica Carlin is an independent journalist, opinion writer and contributor to several news and opinion sources. She is based in Georgia.
