Biden’s Taiwan Defense Vow Gets Mixed Reception on Capitol Hill

‘It certainly adds to the ambiguity to have the president taking one position and the rest of his administration taking another.’

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A lot can change in two decades.

In 2001, then-Senator Joe Biden denounced President George W. Bush for suggesting he would use American troops to defend Taiwan if it were attacked by China. Administration officials said afterward that American policy had not changed, prompting Biden to write in an op-ed the next week that the longtime approach of “strategic ambiguity” was being replaced with “a policy of ambiguous strategic ambiguity.”

“It is not an improvement,” Biden wrote.

“Ambiguous strategic ambiguity” is now an apt description of Biden’s approach to Taiwan as president. Four times since last summer, the president has said America would come to Taiwan’s defense if attacked by China. Each time, Biden administration officials have claimed American policy has not changed.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Angie

    Always a pleasure Haley....

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  2. Avatar photo
    Narwhal

    From the article:

    “A lot can change in two decades.

    In 2001, then-Senator Joe Biden denounced President George W. Bush for suggesting he would use American troops to defend Taiwan if it were attacked by China. Administration officials said afterward that American policy had not changed, prompting Biden to write in an op-ed the next week that the longtime approach of “strategic ambiguity” was being replaced with “a policy of ambiguous strategic ambiguity.”

    “It is not an improvement,” Biden wrote.”

    Yes, a lot can and often does change in two decades. Perhaps the most obvious change is that Biden is no longer just another member of our foremost (elected) deliberative body. He is now the commander in chief of our armed forces. That change brings with it a change in perspective and a change in responsibility.

    Deterrence is the name of the game. And we will know if the Biden administration has failed if and when the PRC invades Taiwan.

    Current senators have the luxury of not being the person who will have to decide whether or not to send US forces to defend Taiwan, a decision which could lead to a state of war between the US and the PRC. They also aren’t the ones regularly advised by the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs.

    It is probably also worth noting recent developments in and statements coming from our friend and ally Japan.

    “Japan will expand fuel and ammunition storage facilities on the Nansei Islands in the East China Sea, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told Nikkei on Tuesday, as Tokyo seeks to better prepare for a Taiwan Strait crisis.”

    “We will radically strengthen the defense capabilities we need, including our capacity for sustained and flexible deployment," he said.

    …

    “Japan aims not only to improve the mobility of its forces, but also to facilitate transportation of fuel, ammunition and food.”

    …

    “Sustained operation has become a greater concern for the SDF. Tokyo's postwar defense strategy has generally assumed that Japanese forces would need to hold out for a few weeks until the U.S. military arrived to handle the threat. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine, now stretching into its seventh month, is spurring a rethink.” (September 2022)

    https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Interview/Japan-to-expand-fuel-and-ammo-storage-on-islands-near-Taiwan-defense-chief

    “Meanwhile, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has pledged to double Japan’s defense spending to two percent or more of gross domestic product over the next five years. The move is primarily in response to a rise in defense spending by China. It also follows Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as missile tests by North Korea.” (September 2022)

    https://japan-forward.com/japans-defense-minister-urges-the-united-states-to-stand-firm-on-taiwan/

    “The Japanese and U.S. defense chiefs held their first talks Tuesday, pledging to cooperate in responding to “any situation in the region” after China’s launch of ballistic missiles into waters near Japan’s far-flung southwestern islands earlier this month.”

    …

    “Combined with a lack of transparency about its national defense policies and military forces, recent military activities by China have become a strong concern for our nation, the region and the international community,” Hamada said, adding that Japan would bolster its presence in the area, deploying more assets and personnel to the remote island areas “in a visible manner.”

    …

    “Hamada, 66, is serving in the post for the second time, after a stint from 2008 to 2009. The newly installed defense minister will be shepherding through some of the biggest changes in Japanese defense policy in nearly a decade as he spearheads revisions to the National Security Strategy and other key security documents before the year’s end — changes that will lay the foundation for the country’s defense policy for potentially years to come.” (August 2022)

    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/08/16/national/politics-diplomacy/yasukazu-hamada-lloyd-austin-first-call/

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  3. Avatar photo
    JohnM.

    I really appreciate reading the interviews on Uphill. Thanks, Haley.

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  4. CWB3

    It took Biden to be a mid-stage dementia patient to finally get some truth out of him. Raw Biden is no Jedi. Raw Biden moments thus far: 1) Afghanistan: “We gone.” 2) Russia/Ukraine: “Just make it go away.” 3) China/Taiwan: “Fine, I’ll fight your ass.” Unlike “he’s all here I guess” Joe Biden, today’s Raw Biden is not always wrong. Problem is he swings wildly, and nobody ever wanted a brutally honest president.

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    MatthewRobin

    I believe our deficiencies in shoulder fired missiles, HIMARS ammo and naval logistics precludes our ability to defend Taiwan. If China does attack hopefully they embark on an amphibious invasion because they will likely fail. If they chose to blockade Taiwan then American support will fail if the blockade last as long as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Because of this we should speak quietly and prepare our forces in the Pacific to deter China in a protracted conflict. To execute this we should fully implement Marine Commandant David Berger's Force Design 2030 plan.

    https://infraredline.substack.com/p/defense-debrief-why-i-am-against

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  6. Duane Truitt

    Strategic ambiguity is what buys you a war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine. Strategic ambiguity is what bought Europe the appeasement of 1937-1938 that then resulted in World War Two in 1939. The cost of that error was a mere 60 million dead, and a destroyed Europe and a destroyed China and an utterly destroyed Japan.

    Absolutely the US must make it clear to all including the PRC that the freedom of the people of the Republic of China and their freely elected democratic government is a key national interest of all free nations everywhere including the United States.

    Screw ambiguity. Nothing ever beats clarity. Tyrants thrive on ambiguity, because it rewards them for pushing the limits until they finally go too far.

    Nixon ended the Two China policy that had prevailed since 1949 as a means of countering the Soviet Union during the Cold War (just the year before the Soviets and PRC fought a war that nearly went nuclear). Well, guess what, the Cold War has been over for 31 years, and the Soviet Union no longer exists, and its ugly offspring the rump state Russia is presently embarrassing and destroying itself against little old Ukraine.

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  7. P Satter

    Good work tracking down legislators catching trains and getting on elevators to get their comments.

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    Wanda Anderson

    Penalize those who worked in public service?? Social Security was taken from those paychecks as well as my private sector jobs. Already, my 46 year old son questions if he will ever see any money from his SS payments over the years. We truly have an ‘imperfect’ union….

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    1. Duane Truitt

      To be honest, everyone wondered about whether SSA would be there when they retired. It's still here.

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  9. Avatar photo
    Adicesa14

    Our lawyer driven politicians obviously will attempt anything to maintain their power. So, a bill to strengthen presidential election certification is certainly desirable and likely necessary. However, two potential issues may prevent the ‘sausage making:’ 1) Are we solving the last problem? What else could a clever Constitutional usurper dream-up to attain ill-gotten reward? 2) At least one of 535 might insert a ‘poison pill’ into the text.

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  10. Ian Sirota

    1) I don't think that President Biden should have said what he said, but he did it, so it kind of doesn't matter anymore what I or anyone else thinks.
    2) Ted Cruz should be the last person to comment on anyone else being "incoherent".

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    1. Avatar photo
      Marty

      Bingo on Cruz.

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