Observers said based on the recent comments made by senior White House officials the U.S. is unlikely to support Taiwan if it declares independence from China. White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said that the Biden administration is not yet willing to cross a "major red line" with China.
China has repeatedly warned Taiwan that a declaration of independence would lead to war. While the U.S. has shown its support of Taiwan - through the supply of arms and other goods - the Biden administration has been hesitant to fully put the country's military and economic weight into the endeavor.
Campbell said earlier in the week that the U.S. fully supports forming a strong unofficial relationship with Taiwan. However, the county does not agree with the island declaring independence.
"To ensure cross-strait peace and stability and to prevent the US from being dragged into a war with China because of Taiwan, the Biden administration must make it clear that it does not support Taiwan independence," political experts at the National Chengchi University in Taipei said.
Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a speech marking the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party that any opposition to the "complete reunification" of Taiwan will be crushed. China has long accused the U.S. of meddling with its internal affairs, particularly because of its continued naval activities in the Taiwan Strait.
Analysts said Campbell's statement is a clear message to Taiwan that while it remains its ally in the Indo-Pacific, there are limits to its support.
Despite the growing call from Japan and other U.S. allies to support Taiwan, U.S. officials have stuck to their stance of avoiding a direct conflict with China. Pentagon media secretary John Kirby said the U.S. will continue to "observe the One China policy."
"By reiterating the four-decade US stance that it does not support Taiwan independence, Campbell also aimed to tell hawkish Congressmen it is unlikely the US would cross that supersensitive red line, given that Beijing has made it clear it would not tolerate any attempts to split Taiwan from the Chinese mainland," analysts at the Tamkang University's Centre for Advanced Technology said.
