President Joe Biden stirred controversy during a Thursday evening town hall when he twice appeared to confirm that he had a commitment to protect Taiwan in the event of an attack, one that would presumably come from China, where President Xi Jinping has vowed to take reintegrate the rival government by diplomacy, or force, if necessary. Asked directly by CNN host Anderson Cooper if Biden was "saying that the United States would come to Taiwan's defense" after the president affirmed as much in response to a previous question, Biden doubled down.
"Yes, we have a commitment to do that," he said.
Such a commitment would mark an end to decades of strategic ambiguity, an approach through which Washington has neither confirmed nor denied its willingness to back Taipei against Beijing.
