Biden says U.S. not encouraging independence for Taiwan

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday (November 16) his administration's policy on Taiwan was unchanged and that the United States was not encouraging independence for Taiwan.

"We are not going to change our policy at all," Biden told reporters. "We are not encouraging independence, we are encouraging that they do exactly what the Taiwan Act requires."

Biden was speaking to reporters on an airfield tarmac following an event in New Hampshire where he told reporters he had a "good meeting" with Chinese President Xi Jinping the night before and that aides would follow up on a range of issues.

Asked whether the two leaders had made any progress on Taiwan during their virtual meeting on Monday (November 15), Biden said: "We made very clear we support the Taiwan Act."

The United States had envisioned the Monday virtual meeting with Xi would put stability into a relationship increasingly troubled over a litany of issues, including what Washington views as Beijing's aggressive actions toward Chinese-claimed Taiwan.

Asked if there was any progress on tensions over the self-ruled island, Biden said: "Yes. We made very clear we support the Taiwan act and that's it.

Biden was referring to the Taiwan Relations Act, a U.S. law that requires the United States to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, though Washington has long followed a policy of "strategic ambiguity" on whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.

"I said that they have to decide ... Taiwan, not us," Biden added later. "We are not encouraging independence."

Xi told Biden in their meeting that China would take "decisive measures" in the event that Taiwan crosses Beijing's red line in seeking independence.