US to help Taiwan defend itself: Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby

Washington: – Pentagon spokesman John Kirby announced, ‘The Biden administration is also committed to provide everything necessary for self-defence to Taiwan, as the previous US administrations. The required military assistance will be provided to Taiwan to strengthen its defence-related capabilities.’ But while announcing all the support to Taiwan, Kirby announced that the United States supports the One China Policy. It is believed that the United States has delivered a solid jolt to Taiwan by announcing support for this Chinese policy.

Only last week, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga visited the United States and met US President Joe Biden. Discussions were held between the two leaders regarding the increasing Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region. The discussions included the South China Sea and Senkaku Islands, the issues of Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Xinjiang province. But the Japanese Prime Minister discussing the Taiwan issue becomes the highlight of the discussion.

Prime Minister Suga told the media that peace and stability in the Gulf of Taiwan are extremely important. Only last week, 25 Chinese aeroplanes had intruded into the Taiwanese airspace. Against this background, the mention of Taiwan by the Japanese Prime Minister during discussions with the US President becomes significant for the first time in five decades.

A Japanese news channel quizzed Kirby over this. The Japanese reporter asked regarding the exact position to be adopted by the United States and Japan to ensure peace and stability in the Gulf of Taiwan. While answering the question, Kirby started with the statement, ‘We support the One China Policy’.

The Chinese One China Policy clearly denotes that Taiwan is an integral part of China and not a separate country. Donald Trump, the previous US President, had challenged the One China Policy. But Kirby is delivering a message that the Biden administration will not be doing that. Chinese fighter jets and warships repeatedly intrude into the Taiwanese limits, and China is keeping Taiwan under pressure with repeated war exercises. In this situation, by supporting the One China Policy, the Biden administration has indicated that it is unwilling to go against China. Therefore, the statements made by Kirby also have a veiled message for Taiwan that although the United States will provide all the defence-related assistance to Taiwan, it will not defend Taiwan.

Responsible analysts are claiming, although President Biden will claim to adopt a tough stand against China, he will not take any concrete action against China. A self-centred country like China is exploiting this to the fullest. Therefore, it is becoming clear that Taiwan cannot depend on the United States for its safety. But Japan and the other countries from the region have prepared to stand firm behind Taiwan, and the strategizing by these countries could pose a fresh challenge in front of China.