• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

U.S. will make sure Taiwan has ability to defend itself: Blinken

ROC Central News Agency

11/01/2021 12:22 PM

Washington, Oct. 31 (CNA) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the United States will remain committed to the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and make sure Taiwan has the ability to defend itself.

In an interview on CNN's State of Union, Blinken reiterated there has been no change for his country when it came to Taiwan. He was asked to comment on President Joe Biden's recent remarks in which Biden said the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack from China.

"There is no change in our policy," Blinken said. "We've had a longstanding commitment that, by the way, then-Senator Biden strongly supported when he was in the United States Senate, a longstanding commitment pursuant to the Taiwan Relations Act to make sure that Taiwan has the means to defend itself, and we stand by that."

"The President stood by that strongly, and we want to make sure that no one takes any unilateral action that would disrupt the status quo with regard to Taiwan. That hasn't changed," Blinken added.

On Oct. 21, asked by host Anderson Cooper during a CNN town hall in Baltimore whether the U.S. "would come to Taiwan's defense if China attacked," Biden replied: "Yes, we have a commitment to do that."

In the interview with Blinken, CNN's Dana Bash repeatedly asked him to confirm Biden's statement in the Oct. 21 town hall that the U.S. will defend Taiwan in case of attacks from China.

The U.S. state secretary would only say that Washington remained "resolutely" committed to the TRA.

The TRA is the law which defines the substantial but non-diplomatic ties between the people of the U.S. and the people of Taiwan after Washington shifted its recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979. The Act has served as the cornerstone of U.S.-Taiwan relations.

Under the Act, Washington commits to provide Taipei the means to defend itself, but does not say it will go to battle for Taiwan.

"What I can tell you is that we remain committed, resolutely committed, to our responsibilities under the Taiwan Relations Act, including making sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself from any aggression," Blinken said.

"The President has for a long time, including when he was a senator voting for the Taiwan Relations Act, made clear that we will do everything necessary to make sure that Taiwan has the means to defend itself," Blinken said.

On Oct. 29, Sandra Oudkirk, the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan's (AIT) Taipei office, also said in her first news conference that there has been no change in U.S. policy toward Taiwan, adding her country considered peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait central to the security and stability of the broader Indo-Pacific region and to the U.S.

Earlier on Sunday, Blinken raised his concerns about its allies and partners including Taiwan in a meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅) on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome, according to U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.

Price said Blinken expressed concerns about a range of China's actions "that undermine the international rules-based order and that run counter to our values and interests and those of our allies and partners, including actions related to human rights, Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, the East and South China Seas, and Taiwan."

(By Chiang Chin-yeh, Chang Cheng-chien and Frances Huang)

Enditem/cs