Vice President Kamala Harris condemned China’s actions in the Taiwan Strait while meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and reiterated Washington’s commitment to Tokyo’s defense on Monday.
Harris and Kishida “discussed the People’s Republic of China’s recent aggressive and irresponsible provocations in the Taiwan Strait, and reaffirmed the importance of preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the White House said in a statement.
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Harris’s assurance comes one week after President Joe Biden told 60 Minutes that he was prepared to use U.S. troops to defend Taiwan, the democratically ruled island Beijing claims, before the White House said after the interview that national policy had not changed.
The United States maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it will help Taiwan defend itself in the face of Chinese aggression.
Harris is leading the U.S. delegation to the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and is meeting with Indo-Pacific leaders during the visit to Tokyo and South Korea.
During the meeting on Monday, Harris and Kishida also discussed a recent ballistic missile test by North Korea and the importance of resolving the problem of Japanese citizens being abducted by North Korea.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have flared in recent months, with China conducting new military exercises in the South China Sea and live-fire drills near the Korean Peninsula.
China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement that Biden is sending “very wrong, dangerous signals” after he pledged to defend Taiwan with force on 60 Minutes. In the wake of the interview, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Chinese counterpart for 90 minutes of “direct and honest” talks, with Taiwan as the focus, a senior administration official told reporters.
Days later, Biden sought to reassure world leaders concerned about rising tensions with China, promising during his United Nations General Assembly address to be “reasonable” in his “competition” with the world power.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned Biden over Taiwan, telling the president in July that “those who play with fire will perish by it.”
Biden is expected to hold his first face-to-face meeting with Xi in November during a meeting of the Group of 20 leaders in Indonesia.
