U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speak during a news conference at Akasaka Palace Monday, May 23, 2022 in Tokyo. EVAN VUCCI/AP
US President Joe Biden warned in Tokyo on Monday, May 23, that the United States would defend Taiwan militarily if Beijing invaded the autonomous island, warning that China is “flirting with the danger.” “That’s the commitment we made,” Biden said when asked if the United States would intervene militarily against a Chinese attempt to seize that territory by force:
“We approved the One China Policy, we signed it (…), but the idea that [Taïwan] can be taken by force is simply not appropriate. »
The American President then recalled that Russia should “pay a price in the long term” for its “barbarism in Ukraine”. “It’s not just about Ukraine,” Biden said. After all, if “sanctions were not maintained in many ways, what signal would that send to China about the cost of trying to take Taiwan by force? he asked himself.
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A new economic partnership in Asia-Pacific
Japan and the United States “will monitor the recent activities of the Chinese Navy, as well as movements related to the joint exercises between China and Russia,” said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after his meeting with the American President.
“We are firmly opposed to attempts to forcibly change the status quo in the East China Sea and South China Sea,” Kishida said at a news conference. “Furthermore, we have agreed to jointly address various China-related issues, including human rights,” he added.
Mr. Biden also announced the launch of a new Asia-Pacific economic partnership with 13 first participating countries, including the United States and Japan, but not China, which views this project with bleak prospects.
The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is not a free trade agreement but provides for further integration between its member countries in four key areas: digital economy, supply chains, green energy and anti-corruption. However, the US President announced that he was considering removing tariff barriers for China, recalling that they were not imposed by his government.
Also read Alice Ekman’s column: article reserved for our subscribers.