TEHRAN- United States President Joe Biden has again made statements in support of secessionist forces in Taiwan, raising tensions with China on a very sensitive issue for Beijing.

The statements have also raised question marks over whether his administration is distancing itself from Washington's official position on the one-China principle toward the self-ruled island.

In a TV interview, Biden was asked what Beijing should know about the White House's commitment to Taiwan in reference to separatist forces on the Taiwan Strait.

Biden replied "we agree with what we signed on to, a long time ago. And there's a one-China policy then Taiwan makes their own judgments about their independence.

We are not moving... we are not encouraging them to be independent ... that's their decision."

Asked "would U.S. forces defend the island?", he said, "yes, if there was an unprecedented attack".

Asked again if U.S. troops would defend Taiwan in case of an attack, Biden responded, "yes".

Over the past decades, U.S. administrations refused to speculate, in public, on whether American troops would get militarily involved with China over Taiwan. The reason for the so-called policy of "strategic ambiguity" by former American presidents was that, legally, the U.S. abandoned its position of militarily supporting Taiwan in the very late 1970s.

The China-U.S. Joint Communique in December 1978, declares that "The Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China."

After the formal recognition of China, the U.S. Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act in January 1979 which ended diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of official ties with Beijing.

There are more communiques between Beijing and Washington as well as international treaties acknowledging there is only one country called China which is represented at the United Nations.

Despite a White House spokesperson later saying U.S. policy towards Taiwan had not changed, the statement made by Biden is dangerous, destabilizing for the Taiwan Strait, and very irresponsible.

Separatist forces in Taipei led by Tsai Ing-wen, who are determined to illegally break up the state of China, would have received further ammunition by the U.S. president's claims of unwavering support involving American troops.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing had lodged “stern representations” with the U.S. following Biden's comments.

China reserves the right to take all necessary measures in response to activities that split the nation, said Mao Ning, a spokesperson at the foreign ministry.
"We are willing to do our best to strive for peaceful reunification. At the same time, we will not tolerate any activities aimed at secession," Mao said.

She also called on the U.S. to handle Taiwan-related issues "carefully and properly", and not send "wrong signals" to Taiwan separatist forces, "there is only one China in the world, Taiwan is part of China, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government of China," said Mao.

Apart from the ludicrous matter of expecting China to compromise on its sovereignty, many have noted that even Tsai is being played about by senior U.S. officials into a plot that involves buying more American weapons from the U.S., which legally does not even have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Experts have also pointed to history saying it shows the U.S. has never been a reliable security partner and is only interested in whatever benefits itself, which is evidently economic benefits when it comes to Taiwan. Apart from the arms, Taiwan is reported to be the U.S.'s ninth biggest trading partner.

Before Biden gave the TV interview, which was published a week after it was recorded, the U.S. State Department announced another arms sale to Taiwan, this time worth $1.1bn.
The sale included $355m for air-to-sea missiles, $85m for air-to-air missiles, and a $655m logistics support package for Taiwan’s surveillance radar program.

The arms lobby groups in the American congress would have been very pleased by the decision. The chain of events is interesting.

The latest arms sale followed military drills by Chinese forces in response to a very controversial visit to Taiwan by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking American official to ever visit the Island.

China issued stern warnings against the visit saying it would jeopardize peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. It was also a clear violation of the U.S. commitment of “not developing official relations with Taiwan”, but Pelosi knew exactly what she was doing and if Taiwan didn't have enough funds she would not have gone.
In line with the hawkish U.S. policy, Pelosi traveled to Taiwan seeking opportunities for arms deals and the next step would be selling more weapons.

The White House later used the context of China staging military drills near Taiwan for the $1.1bn, the largest under the Biden administration. The question is what could be more natural than a country conducting exercises near an area where it lawfully has sovereignty?

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Biden on the phone in July the historical context of the Taiwan question is "crystal clear, and so are the fact and status quo that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and same China."

President Xi said that China firmly opposes secession aimed at "Taiwan independence" and external interference, and never allows any room for "Taiwan independence" forces in whatever form.

He added that the position of the Chinese government and people on the Taiwan question is consistent, and resolutely safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity is the firm will of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people.
The Chinese president also warned that "the will of the people cannot be defied and those who play with fire will perish by it", adding that China hoped the United States will see things clear about this.

While Biden claims he is not supporting Taiwan's independence, the statements he makes and the actions of his senior officials are not in line with an independent approach to the issue, as the U.S. position should be legal.

In May, Biden was also asked in Tokyo if he would be prepared to use the American military in case a conflict broke out between China and Taiwanese separatist forces and he also replied yes, causing unease and confusion among other world leaders and also his security staff.

The U.S. president had the opportunity to mend ties with China, which saw tensions rise during the era of his predecessor. Under the administration of President Donald Trump, Washington sent a remarkably higher number of weapons to Taiwan and loosened the rules on diplomatic contact between the U.S. and Taipei.

Biden has decided to pursue a similar approach toward China as that of Trump, instead of taking a less provocative stance. He has even continued with the controversial move of sailing U.S. aircraft carriers through the Taiwan Strait.

In doing so, the U.S. president has put economic gain ahead of peace and stability in the East Asia region and also the world, something that is to be expected of the United States foreign policy.