China warns US “not to play with fire or gent burned” after Vice President Joe Biden stated that the US would support Taiwan militarily if Beijing invaded the self-governing island.
The Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese State Council claimed on Monday that the US is “playing the ‘Taiwan card’ to constrain China, and will get burned.”
According to Xinhua, Zhu Fenglian, the office’s spokesperson, he asks the US to “stop any words or acts that contradict” previously agreed-upon standards between Beijing and Washington.
When reporters asked if the US would “get involved militarily” to defend Taiwan if it was invaded by China, Biden said unequivocally “yes” from Tokyo during a trip to Asia.
“That’s the commitment we made,” Biden remarked when asked about the apparent reversal in US policy.
“Look, here’s the situation: We agree with the ‘One China’ policy; we’ve signed on to it, as well as all the subsequent accords,” the US president continued. “However, the notion that it may simply be taken by force is simply not suitable.” While Biden is prone to gaffes, he has previously expressed support for Taiwan’s security.
Beijing still considers Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China, to be a province and has not excluded out forcibly uniting the two sides.
Although Washington has strong connections with Taiwan, it has an official “One China” policy, which asserts that there is only one China but does not define it.
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