Firm against China, optimistic about Covid but mysterious about his intentions for the 2024 presidential elections: President Joe Biden multiplied shock statements during an interview broadcast on US television on Sunday, less than two months before the elections in midterm in the United States. .
On the CBS channel, the Democratic president responded directly to questions from journalist Scott Pelley.
“Would American forces, American men and women, defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion?” Scott Pelley asks. Joe Biden’s response: “Yes, if an unprecedented attack were to occur.”
Officially, there is no real change in the so-called “strategic ambiguity” doctrine on the question of mainland China-Taiwan relations, US officials say.
If the United States recognizes Taiwan as an integral part of the People’s Republic of China since 1979, it also intends to treat the island as a state in its own right. The only difference is the absence of official diplomatic relations.
The end of “ambiguity”?
The ambiguity has so far resided in the fact of not promoting the independence of Taiwan, but not showing neutrality in the face of a desire for effective annexation by China.
However, this is the first time that a US president has publicly stated that his troops would defend Taipei in the event of an attack from China. For many experts, this change in tone is due to the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which could give the communist regime ideas. Beijing also held military exercises in the region last August.
This statement is also in line with the definition of Beijing as the main adversary of the United States on the international stage. This is also demonstrated by Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island on August 2, as part of a visit to Asia.
China was quick to react to these statements by Joe Biden, denouncing a “serious violation” of Washington’s diplomatic promises. “This is a serious violation of the United States’ important commitment not to support Taiwan independence. It sends the wrong and serious signal (of support) to the separatist forces campaigning for Taiwan independence,” Mao Ning, a spokeswoman, told reporters. for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The pandemic is over”
In the same interview, Joe Biden also talks about the Covid-19 pandemic, one of his priorities when he came to power in January 2021.
“The pandemic is over. Covid is still a problem for us. It still requires a lot of work. But the pandemic is over,” the US president said.
While the country passed 1 million deaths from the pandemic on May 12, the number of infections and hospitalizations have been falling steadily since July, according to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The only figure on the rise since the beginning of September, the number of deaths: almost 400 daily on average in the last seven days counted (until September 15).
“Intention” to run again in 2024, without “final decision”
The Democratic leader also and for the first time let it be known that he had not decided whether he intended to run for the US presidential election in 2024. So far, he has affirmed his desire to run again.
“Is this a final decision that I will represent myself? That remains to be seen,” he said, though he said that was his “intention” for now.
If the doctors who examined him on the occasion of his 79th birthday in November 2021 declared him “fit” to exercise his presidential mandate, that is not the opinion of many commentators on American political life.
Joe Biden is the oldest sitting US president. He is criticized by his Republican opponents and even a fringe of Democrats for his age and his absences, including his “mistakes,” at various public events.
For the 2024 elections, he will be 82 years old. If he is re-elected, he will be 86 years old at the end of his second term.
Source: BFM TV
