Biden's comments on Taiwan a signal to China: scholars
ROC Central News Agency
03/19/2022 09:07 PM
Taipei, March 19 (CNA) U.S. President Joe Biden's comments regarding Taiwan during a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart were meant to discourage Beijing from making any rash moves on Taiwan amid the Ukraine crisis, a Taiwanese professor said Saturday.
Chen Shih-min (陳世民), an associate professor at National Taiwan University (NTU), told CNA that while Biden simply repeated past statements about the U.S.' one-China policy during the talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Friday, his comments signaled U.S. commitment to the security of both the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.
Those comments were meant to ensure Beijing realizes that western countries have not been distracted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and deter it from seeking to take advantage of the situation to move against Taiwan, Chen said.
According to a readout of the talks issued by the White House, Biden told the Chinese leader that the U.S. policy toward Taiwan remained unchanged and that Washington continued to oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo.
During a background press briefing, a senior American administration official said Biden had underscored concerns about Beijing's "coercive and provocative actions" across the Taiwan Strait during his meeting with Xi.
Meanwhile, Ting Shu-fan (丁樹範), professor emeritus at National Chengchi University, noted that Biden and Xi did not reach a consensus in their meeting but added that was not surprising.
He said in the short run, the U.S. will maintain its existing policy toward Taiwan, such as maintaining close ties with Taiwanese officials and supporting Taiwan's efforts to elevate defense capability.
The meeting between the two leaders lasted nearly two hours on Friday, during which Biden warned there would be consequences if China, which has so far been reluctant to criticize the Russian aggression, provides material support to Russia.
American officials, however, have not elaborated on what those consequences might be.
On the other hand, Xi told Biden during the talks that China would make its own judgment on the Ukraine crisis, according to a readout issued by the Chinese government.
Xi also urged Ukraine, the U.S. as well as the NATO alliance to engage in dialogue with Russia to try to address the security concerns raised by Russia and Ukraine and resolve the crisis.
The meeting, the first since Biden and Xi talked directly last November, came after international media cited American officials as reporting that Russia had requested military equipment and other assistance from China since the start of its attack on Ukraine in February, reports that China has strenuously denied.
According to Chen, from NTU, the U.S. was warning Beijing about providing arms, supplies or logistical support to Moscow because that assistance would undercut the desired outcomes of western sanctions on Russia.
Meanwhile, Ting cast doubt on the effect of such a warning, citing the Chinese readout as saying that Xi did not offer any guarantees on the issue.
(By Matt Yu and Teng Pei-ju)
Enditem/AW
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