Civic Register
| 4.12.21
Blinken Warns China Using Military Force Against Taiwan Would Be ‘Serious Mistake’
Do you support or oppose the U.S. commitment to enhance Taiwan’s ability to defend itself?
What’s the story?
- In an interview on Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) against using military force in an effort to achieve its goal of bringing the democratic, self-governing nation of Taiwan under the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
- Blinken told NBC’s Chuck Todd that the U.S. has a “real concern” about the “increasingly aggressive actions by the government in Beijing directed at Taiwan, raising tensions in the straits.” The CCP has threatened to use military force to seize Taiwan if the self-governing nation, which the PRC regards as a rogue province, pursues formal independence.
- Blinken noted the longstanding, bipartisan U.S. commitment “to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself”, and when asked by Todd whether the U.S. “will militarily respond” the secretary of state replied:
“I’m not going to get into hypotheticals. All I can tell you is we have a serious commitment to Taiwan being able to defend itself. We have a serious commitment to peace and security in the Western Pacific. And in that context, it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change that status quo by force.”
- Blinken’s comments come after a series of provocative actions by Chinese military aircraft, which have entered Taiwan’s airspace on numerous occasions in recent months, surveilled outlying Taiwanese islands, and conducted a simulated long range attack on the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group earlier this year as it sailed in nearby international waters.
- The CCP offered a rebuttal to Blinken’s comments on Monday with the largest single day incursion by Chinese military aircraft in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) that has been reported by Taiwan’s defense ministry.
U.S.-Taiwan Relations
- The conclusion of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 left the Chinese Communist Party in control of mainland China, and the Nationalist government known as the Republic of China (ROC) in control of Taiwan.
- The U.S. and the ROC agreed to a mutual defense treaty that took effect in 1955, known as the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty. It remained in effect for more than two decades until it was annulled by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 when the U.S. established diplomatic relations with the PRC and broke off its formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
- One hundred days after terminating formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Congress and the Carter administration enacted the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) of 1979 to outline the informal U.S.-Taiwan relationship.
- The Taiwan Relations Act states that efforts to determine Taiwan’s future through non-peaceful means (including boycotts or embargoes) threaten peace and security in the Western Pacific; it’s U.S. policy to maintain a capacity to resist the use of force or coercion to undermine Taiwan’s security; the U.S. will provide defensive military equipment so that Taiwan can have a sufficient self-defense capability; that decisions about defending Taiwan will be made by Congress and the president; and that references in U.S. law to foreign states and governments also apply to Taiwan.
- The TRA doesn’t require the U.S. to defend Taiwan against an attack by the PRC, but leaves open the possibility of doing so, creating a policy known as “strategic ambiguity,” which is intended to deter the PRC from attacking Taiwan and to deter Taiwan from taking actions that could provoke a PRC attack.
- The administration of President Ronald Reagan in 1982 made the “Six Assurances” to Taiwan, which have been a foundational element in U.S. policy toward Taiwan and the PRC ever since. In 2019 and 2020, President Donald Trump’s administration declassified Reagan’s internal presidential memorandum and State Dept. cables that included the definitive language of the Six Assurances, which were that the U.S.:
- Has not agreed to set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan.
- Has not agreed to consult with the PRC on arms sales to Taiwan.
- Will not play a mediation role between Taipei and Beijing.
- Has not agreed to revise the Taiwan Relations Act.
- Has not altered its position regarding sovereignty over Taiwan.
- Will not exert pressure on Taiwan to enter into negotiations with the PRC.
- Bipartisan majorities of Congress have reaffirmed the Six Assurances and the Taiwan Relations Act on several occasions since their adoption, including through the recently enacted National Defense Authorization Act and omnibus appropriations bill.
- In the wake of the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances, further U.S. administrations have shaped the relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan.
- During a 1998 trip to China, President Bill Clinton outlined the “Three No’s” which is “that we don’t support independence for Taiwan, or ‘two China’s,’ or ‘one Taiwan, one China,’ and we don’t believe that Taiwan should be a member in any organization for which statehood is a requirement.” Clinton’s statement didn’t diverge from existing U.S. policy, although PRC officials tend to inaccurately quote the “Three No’s” as if the U.S. were opposed to Taiwan’s independence, whereas U.S. policy is that it does not support Taiwan’s independence.
- Polling indicates that a strong majority of the people of Taiwan view their nation as an independent country and oppose the PRC’s reunification efforts. Additionally, a majority prefers the status quo of de facto independence without an immediate move to de jure independence, while a majority also expects the U.S. would protect Taiwan if attacked.
- In 2003, President George W. Bush designated Taiwan as a de facto major non-NATO ally (MNNA), a designation which grants Taiwan access to enhanced military training, certain defense technologies, surplus equipment, counterterrorism cooperation, space technology exports, and collaboration on equipment stockpiling.
— Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Blinken: State Dept. Photo by Ron Przysucha - GPA Photo Archive via Flickr / Public Domain | U.S.-Taiwan: iStock.com / avdeev007)
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President Biden and the Democratic Party have taken a firm yet measured response to not only China but Russia whereas the slobbering GOP under the heel of Fascist Herr Trump was a complete failure in international affairs. Fascist Herr Trump’s Fake News Biden would accommodate China turned out the same way he falsely stated the Stock Market would crash when he left office. Sadly the Texas Three Stooges remains under the thumb of their god-man Donald. Sad.
China is our greatest enemy worse than the Russians. we must empower taiwan to take all of mainland china
If we let China gobble up the world in terms of territory as well as commerce we certainly will be a second class nation. It is almost impossible now to buy something that isn't made in China. Stop China now or be a vassal state tomorrow.
Recognize Taiwan’s sovereignty and while we’re at it, Free Hong Kong. To hell with China’s anti religious genocide and to hell with their social credit system. They’re fascist abuses of their people need to be dealt with on a global scale.
Diplomacy please. Don’t bow to China but hold them accountable, and defend fellow democratic ally’s from oppressors. We should do whatever we can to help while being sensitive and cautious of the threat of war.
I honestly do now how we can stop China but we must try this move by China will destroy years of democratic rule by the people of Tiwan and sooner or later we will have to face China as a threat to the entire free world because they are like every empire over the years expanding there control every day.
It might be already too late!
Causes perverts data in omitting the may be option. USAQ must. support Taiwan, but We Must not trust the biden false administration.
The Chinese have made good use of the time and resources we wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are now threatening our dominance in the Pacific and the well being of our allies. It is time to resume our position as leader of the Free World.
China needs to be accountable for any adverse action it may take against any other countries. US needs to help out its allies, not completely abandon them. That does not mean we should be fighting wars.
Absolutely! China’s obstruction of our ally’s sovereignty should not be tolerated!
Dear Members of the U.S. House of Reprentatives and the Senate, I am Vietnamese-American and - like many who have fled to the U.S. after the U.S. cut and run from Vietnam, I know too well VN's cost, pain, and suffering for believing in the U.S. commitments - whether legal or moral For almost 10 years (mostly under Pres. Obama's 2 terms) the U.S. has turned a blind eye to China militarization claiming 90% of the South China Sea. Now Is the U.S. is really going to honor her commitments to the Philippines and Taiwan under president Biden?
With China we are close to a point of no return. They are empowered and feel they can call the shots. Are we willing to surrender ?
China is fast becoming a super power, and is doing what Russia did in the past. They are trying to bring more independent countries under their rule. I'm proud to see the U.S. once again stand against a country that is working to eliminate all Muslims from its country, and take over other free countries in Asia. The problem with Communism is their desire to eliminate all religions in their Country. We must do all we can to stop China as we worked to stop Russia in the past.
Taiwan merits US support and protection from Chinese aggression.
Under the trump both Russia and China have greatly expanded their military capabilities and have made significant investments in military hardware and bases surrounding territories that they want to lay claim to. China has been steadily fortifying contested islands in the South China seas including dredging out ports, building landing strips and installing defensive weaponry. They have also invested heavily in Naval capabilities including aircraft carriers, destroyer-like vessels and submersibles. Russia has massed an estimated 50,000 troops along the Ukrainian border. They have built numerous military bases surrounding the Arctic sea (I presume to safeguard mining interests for oil and mineral resources which will be accessible once the Arctic ice pack melts due to the changing climate that most Republicans still do not acknowledge is real). … … … This expansionism of these two countries has been made more difficult to monitor since the trump, without neither prior notice nor any explanation, summarily ordered two highly instrumented aircraft authorized by treaty randomly surveil any SALT country - to each be taken out of service and completely dismantled. The Treaty allows any SALT member to, on short notice, fly unarmed surveillance aircraft over member countries so long as any surveillance data was made available to all SALT Countries. The trump’s actions destroyed our capability for legal up-close surveillance with much more information than is possible with satellite imagery alone. Much of the Russian military expansion ramped up after these surveillance planes were destroyed. … … … We have alliances with Taiwan and it is important that China realizes that our country will honor our commitments to support our allies; and that we are concerned about Chinas expansionism in the China Sea. Further, we need to renew our participation in the South China Sea alliances which the trump also abandoned. … … … Both the Russian and Chinese air forces have been testing American resolve by buzzing our air and sea resources in International territories and waters and a strong diplomatic warning and diplomatic actions would seem the best course of action before some avoidable and serious close-encounter accident occurs.
Taiwan is free and democratic. We also have good trade relations. Do not let Taiwan become another Hong Kong where an Agreement was broken and is now becoming oppresive.
This is not going to end well, especially for Taiwan as China has been advancing an anti-American campaign since before POTUS Trump. Their mission is to be the world superpower and they have been aggressively investing money in the U.S. be it in Bonds, agricultural land, food processing facilities, small businesses, and even schools. Biden is a paper tiger just as Barry POFA with the latter making concerted efforts to defund the military while also encouraging retirement of generals so he could replace them with wimps like himself. Biden's appointments of female combat generals is just lip service to lefty-progressive agendas and demonstrates just how removed from reality illegit Joe is. While I am all-in on women serving in the military I just do not believe that they are interested in combat. If that's the narrative being advanced though, we need to start requiring 18 year old girls to register for the selective service immediately. Just as 18 year old boys are already required to do so. As it relates to China's aggression toward Taiwan there's really nothing we're going to be able to do. Trump wasn't given enough time to undo the damage to the military caused by Obama. We cannot physically defend Taiwan unless you want to give illegit Joe the nuclear option. And I'm not talking about those punks in Congress' idea of "nuclear option". China's mission is clear to me and they continue to find ways to distract Americans while they covertly march toward their goal.
China shouldn’t be allowed to force other countries to lose their sovereignty.