New friction between the US and China: will Taiwan become another focus of a war?

In the context of the invasion of Russia a Ukrainethe president of USAJoe Biden, has spoken about Taiwan and China. Or rather, he threatened: if Xi Jinping’s country tries to take over territory that he historically considers to be a rebel, Washington will intervene militarily.

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“USA has pledged to support the position of ‘one China’but that does not mean that China has the jurisdiction to use force to take Taiwan”, Biden said during a visit to Japana country with which it seeks to further strengthen ties.

“The invasion of Ukraine has led us to reaffirm this commitment so that there is no such unilateral attempt in the region”, added the US president.

The Government of the People’s Republic of China answered that USA is “playing with fire” and what if you use the “taiwan letter”, it will end up burning.

To avoid complications, from White House took the floor and stressed that foreign policy on this matter remains the same. Along the same lines, Bloomberg Online recalls that, during 2021, Washington had to “clarify his comments on Taiwan on at least four separate occasions”.

For Marco Carrasco, professor of East Asian Studies at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the University of San Marcos, it would not be so. “Biden spoke of the Russian case, but China making the same decision is highly unlikely. It would be a great loss for everyone involved and no one would gain from that conflict.”, he maintains.

“The statement is unusual and basically says that, in an extreme case, they would make extreme decisions. However, it is highly unlikely that this will happen.”.

“In any case, what should be paid attention to are the Indo-Pacific agreements [está el Aukus, que involucra a EE.UU., Australia y el Reino Unido; y el Quad, compuesto por India, Japón, Australia y EE.UU.] and understand them as a way in which the United States balances the power of China in the region”.

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Joe Biden during the meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), in Tokyo, Japan, on May 23, 2022. REUTERS (JONATHAN ERNST /)

one china

Carrasco notes that the policy of “one china” varies depending on the location of the rapporteur. According to People’s Republic of China -which is led by Xi Jinping-, there can only be one sovereign State with that name. Therefore, the Chinese Republic -also known as Taiwan– You must return to your place of origin.

“There is also the Taiwanese interpretation. They adhere to the same idea, but with the understanding that the Government should fall to them”, explains the specialist.

The posture of USA It is subtly different from the previous ones. Carrasco explains that his gaze was configured in the 70s and 80s, after the visit of the then ruler Richard Nixon to China and all the economic reforms he organized Deng Xiaoping. “The best thing for the US was not to get in trouble and simply start developing its relations with the emerging power”.

In total, says the sinologist, there are five points on which the US interpretation of “one China” is based. Carrasco points out:

1. That at no time in history did they take any position on the sovereignty of Taiwan
2. That is on the side of the authorities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait
3. That it does not recognize the authority of the People’s Republic of China over Taiwan
4. That it does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state
5. Which identifies Taiwan’s status as pending resolution

Image from 2019 in which the former US president, Donald Trump, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, shake hands. AP (Susan Walsh/)

Of course, there were always drawbacks that needed to be ironed out. “For example, him former president Donald Trump Held that the US was not necessarily going to adhere to this policy, although he later spoke with Xi Jinping and discussed respect for this ideaCarrasco says.

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And, more recently, Joe Biden himself. In November 2017, he spoke of a independent taiwanalthough later the White House explained that it was not “encouraged” Their independence.

So he President Xi He responded the same way he does now: “those who play with fire get burned”, and that if someone crosses the red line, they will have “to take decisive action”.

Source: Elcomercio