Antony Blinken: US will support Taiwan against Chinese aggression

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the United States will support Taiwan against Chinese aggression a little more than one week after President Biden vowed to protect Taiwan from any Chinese incursion. 

Speaking with CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday Blinken, however, would not specify whether American would directly help defend Taiwan. 

"There is no change in our policy," Blinken said. "We’ve had a longstanding commitment, by the way, that senator Biden strongly supported when he was in the United States Senate, a longstanding commitment pursuant to the Taiwan Relations Act to make sure Taiwan has the means to defend itself and we stand by that." 

"The president stood by that strongly and we want to make sure that no one takes any unilateral action that would disrupt the status quo with regard to Taiwan," he continued. "That hasn’t changed."

President Biden’s statement last week that the U.S would protect Taiwan in the case of an attack by Beijing was later walked back by the White House. Biden made the statement during a CNN town hall earlier this month.

BIDEN PLEDGES TO DEFEND TAIWAN IF CHINA ATTACKS

"Are you saying the US would come to Taiwan’s defense if China were to attack?" CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Biden to which the president responded, "Yes, we have a commitment to do that."

The remark quickly made headlines, as the U.S. policy for decades has been one of "strategic ambiguity" toward how it would respond to such an attack. The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act commits the U.S. to support Taiwan, including providing it defensive capabilities, but not necessarily to engage in a military conflict.

Beijing, meanwhile, views Taiwan as a breakaway province and claims that it is part of its own territory. The two countries split in 1949 and China has been increasing pressure on the self-ruled nation, while opposing its involvement in international organizations. The U.S. does not formally recognize Taiwan, but maintains an unofficial alliance.

During the town hall, Biden had been asked by an audience member about China’s recent testing of a hypersonic missile and questioned him about whether or not the United States would stand up to China.

"Don’t worry about whether they're going to be more powerful," Biden said after reaffirming that the rest of the world "knows" that the United States has the most powerful military in the world.

On Sunday, CNN’s Dana Bash asked Blinken for clarification. 

"Are you now saying that the United States would not come to Taiwan’s defense if attacked? Can you be specific?" she asked.  

"Again, what I can tell you is we remain committed, resolutely committed to our responsibilities under the Taiwan Relations Act, including making sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself from any aggression," he responded. 

Bash then asked, "The president said specifically that the U.S. would. That’s not what you’re saying, correct?"

"The president has for a long time, including when he was a senator voting for the Taiwan Relations Act, made clear that we will do everything necessary to make sure that Taiwan has the means to defend itself," Blinken responded to her follow up question. 

There have been calls for the U.S. to move away from strategic ambiguity and instead move toward a policy of strategic clarity in the face of increasing aggression from Beijing – which has seen the communist regime send dozens of military aircraft toward Taiwan.

After Biden’s remarks, the White House soon clarified the comment and said the President was not abandoning strategic ambiguity.

A White House spokesperson told Fox News after the town hall that Biden "was not announcing any change in our policy and there is no change in our policy."

"The U.S. defense relationship with Taiwan is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act," the spokesperson said. "We will uphold our commitment under the Act, we will continue to support Taiwan's self-defense, and we will continue to oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo."

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Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.