If China tried to change the status quo of Taiwan and uses force then US and allies will not sit back and see.
Blinken did not say what sort of action he was referring to, as he responded to a question on the issue during a forum hosted by The New York Times on Wednesday.
When asked if the US would step in to defend the self-ruled island in the event of an attack by the mainland, Blinken repeated the regular statements that Washington’s role was to make sure the island had the means to defend itself, as required under US law.
“At the same time, I think it’s fair to say that we’re not alone in this determination to make sure that we preserve peace and stability in that part of the world,” he said.
“There are many countries, both in the region and beyond, that would see any unilateral action to use force to disrupt the status quo as a significant threat to peace and security, and they too would take action in the event that happens.”
Those remarks appeared to depart from a long held policy of “strategic ambiguity”, not making clear how the United States would respond. But the White House quickly said Biden was not signalling a change in policy, and some analysts dismissed his comments as a gaffe.
The Democratic chairman of the influential House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff, last week urged the Biden administration to be less ambiguous about what he called a US obligation to defend Taiwan from attack by China.
Blinken’s remarks came ahead of a planned virtual meeting between Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which a source briefed on the matter said could be held as soon as next week. Asked about the meeting’s timing, Blinken said it was “coming up soon” but was not more specific.
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