US will defend Taiwan if invaded: Biden

President Joe Biden said the United States would defend Taiwan militarily if Beijing invaded the self-ruled island, warning China was "flirting with danger". "That's the commitment we made," he said when asked if Washington would intervene militarily against a Chinese attempt to forcibly take control of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province to be unified with the mainland. "We agreed with the One China policy, we signed on to it... but the idea that (Taiwan) can be taken by force is just not appropriate. "It will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine."

In his strongest comments, at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday, Biden directly linked the outcome of Western attempts to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion with lessons likely to be learned in Beijing regarding Taiwan. It's "important that Putin pay a price for his barbarism in Ukraine", Biden said."Russia has to pay a long-term price." "What signal does that send to China about the cost of... attempting to take Taiwan by force?" he asked. Biden said China does not have "jurisdiction to take Taiwan by force".

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the US's Indo-Pacific strategy is "doomed to fail," making his remarks while President Joe Biden is in the region to increase engagement with allies and counter China's rise and influence. "Facts will prove that the so-called 'Indo-Pacific strategy' is essentially a strategy for creating divisions, a strategy for inciting confrontation, and a strategy for destroying peace," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement. The US's strategy "is under the banner of 'freedom and openness,' but it is keen to gang up and create 'small circles'" in an attempt to contain China, the Chinese foreign ministry said.