Biden slams China's 'coercive' actions across Taiwan, calls it 'attack on regional peace'

United States President Joe Biden has slammed China for its "coercive" actions across the Taiwan Strait while speaking at the East Asia Summit on Wednesday. The US President, who attended the summit of the 18th Asia-Pacific nations virtually, also accused Beijing of undermining peace and stability in the region following an aggressive behaviour in the past months, the Associated Press reported. It is to be noted that Biden's comments come amid China's recurrent sovereignty claims over Taiwanese territory under the 'One China' policy and Beijing's escalated aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.

President Biden also raised concerns about China's "provocative actions" across the Taiwan Strait, which separates the Chinese mainland from the island.

"Such actions threaten regional peace and stability in the region," he asserted at the meet. According to a White House statement, the US President also "reiterated the US commitment to the international rules-based order and expressed concern over threats to that order."

Biden's remarks, in the presence of China's premier Li Keqiang, come a week after the former set off alarm bells during his speech at the CNN Town Hall conclave where he said the US is committed to helping Taiwan defend its territory in case of Chinese invasion. His comments seemed to shake the decade-long 'strategic ambiguity' of Washington over its informal military role in Taiwan during a Chinese attack. However, a White House official later downplayed the President's comments and clarified that it does not indicate any change in the policies under the Taiwan Relations Act and asserted that the latter's comments came following the 'unintentional escalation' of aggression by Beijing, CNN reported.

Tensions between the US, China and Taiwan

Tensions between China and Taiwan have gained momentum since October 1 after the former flew over 100 fighter jets into Taiwan's Air Defence zone. This was followed by the latter's dependence on the US for military support. Meanwhile, self-ruled Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly expressed willingness to remain independent against the Chinese goal of 'reunification.' On the other hand, US and China have remained geopolitical rivals for decades and relations between them have further frayed due to Beijing's aggressive claims of sovereignty along the South China Sea fuelled by Chinese engagement in testing high-tech projectiles.

With inputs from AP

Image: AP