US President Joe Biden has once again said that the US will defend Taiwan in the event of an attack by China.
In a CBS interview, when asked if the US military would defend the island, the US president said, "Yes, if there was actually an unusual attack."
After his statement, the White House had to clarify that US policy had not changed.
Washington has long maintained a position of "strategic ambivalence" on Taiwan, meaning it neither commits to defending Taiwan nor rejects the option.
Taiwan is an autonomous island off the coast of eastern China that Beijing claims is part of China.
Washington has always acted with diplomatic caution on this issue. On the one hand, it is pursuing the 'One China' policy which is the basis of its relations with Beijing.
Under this policy, the US recognizes that China has only one government and has formal relations with Beijing rather than Taiwan.
But it also maintains close ties with Taiwan and sells arms to it under the Taiwan Relations Act. The act states that the United States must provide resources for the island's defense.
Taiwan welcomed US President Biden's statement on Monday and said that the US government has committed rock-solid security to Taiwan.
Taipei said it would continue to strengthen its "closer security partnership" with Washington.
Earlier this month, the United States agreed to sell $1.1 billion worth of defense weapons and missiles to Taiwan, which China expressed displeasure at.
Beijing has yet to respond to Biden's latest statement.
The US president's comments were made in a CBS interview on Sunday, but China has previously condemned such comments by Biden, who promised US military action.
In May, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry said that "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory." The question of Taiwan is purely an internal matter of China, in which there is no justification for any foreign intervention.
The statement by China was in response to Biden's comments in Tokyo in May when he said "yes" to a question about whether the US would defend Taiwan.
The White House then quickly issued a follow-up, saying the US had not deviated from its longstanding policy.
This time, the White House released a statement to downplay the president's comments, saying, "The president has said this before, in Tokyo earlier this year." Then he also clarified that our Taiwan policy has not changed and this is true.
It is the third time since October of last year that President Biden has gone beyond the official position, but in an interview on Sunday, Biden reiterated that the United States is not encouraging Taiwan's independence.
"There is a one-China policy and Taiwan makes its own decisions about its independence," he said. We are not going forward, we are not encouraging them to be free, it is their own decision.
Tensions between the US and China have risen since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in August. About this visit, US President Joe Biden said that this visit was 'not a good idea'.
Beijing responded by imposing a five-day military blockade around Taiwan.
The US claims that China fired missiles at the island, but Beijing has not confirmed this.
Taiwan said that the missiles launched by China were high-flying and did not pose any threat.
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