Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 59, warned China about “terrible consequences” if Beijing moves to annex the Republic of China [ROC] on the Island of Formosa AKA Taiwan or Chinese Taipei. Blinken responded to Beijing’s recent flyovers in the Taiwan Strait in which the Peoples Republic of China [PRC] intimidates the island nation that considers itself independent of Beijing. Since the early 1950s the U.S. had a Taiwan Mutual Defense Treaty that warned Beijing to not mess with Island of Formosa housing pro-democracy Chinese that fled Mao’s 1949 Communist Revolution, seeking refuge in Formosa. U.S.-Taiwan’s mutual defense treaty ended in 1979 when former President Jimmy Carter signed the Taiwan Relations Act, agreeing with Beijing to only recognize one China. Blinken knows that whatever warnings he issues today they don’t include a mutual defense pact.
Blinken continues to roll out the Biden policy that tries to dictate to Beijing what would happen in the event China tried to invade Taipei. Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said relations with Beijing were the worst in 40 years, warning that China could mount a full-scale invasion by 2025. Blinken said “that would be a potentially disastrous decision,” when asked if Beijing would invade Taipei. Blinken said the U.S. was committed to helping Taiwan defend itself against a possible invasion. But Blinken also knows that the U.S. is in no position to go to war with the PRC to defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion. President Xi and his Foreign Ministry listens very carefully to Biden and Blinken’s words, especially when it comes to defending Taiwan. Blinken says nothing about the U.S. committing military assets to defend the ROC in the event of Chinese invasion.
Blinken and 45-year-old National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan me with high ranking Chinese officials in Anchorage, Alaska March 18 in a get-to-know-you summit. By the time the summit ended March 19, both sides were hurling insults at each other. Chinese senior diplomat Yang Jiechi rejected Blinken and Sullivan accusations about genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province in Western China. Jiechi accused Blinken and Sullivan of hypocrisy, after admitting the U.S. is a systemically racist country against African Americans. When the summit ended, diplomatic relations were at a low point. Now Blinken warns Xi that an invasion of Taiwan would be catastrophic for China. “I hope China’s leaders think very carefully about this and about not precipitating a crisis that would have I thin terrible consequences for lots of people and one that’s in no one’s interests, starting with China,” Blinken said.
Blinken never said that the U.S. would defend Taiwan, only that it would be a disaster for China. When the U.S. announced that it’s arming Australia with nuclear powered submarines to join a special fleet in the Pacific Rim and South China Sea, it didn’t go over well with Beijing. Despite disputes in the South China Sea over China’s build-out of military installation in the shallow archipelegos, China wants the U.S. to stay away from its territory. Sending U.S. warships into the South China Sea makes a point about freedom of navigation but antagonizes Beijing. Biden finds himself caught between a rock-and-a-hard-place getting China to back down on its aggressive actions in the South China Sea, while trying to deal with Beijing on ordinary trade policy. Blinken hasn’t helped U.S.-Chinese relations accusing Beijing of genocide in Xinjian and human rights abuses in Hong Kong.
Biden and Blinken must find a way to deescalate tensions with Russia and China before things hit the point of no return. Instead of warning Russia on Ukraine and China on Taiwan, Biden should find common ground with both countries before the belligerent rhetoric morphs into military action. Biden and Blinken know that the U.S. has no national security interest in Ukraine and should immediately stop threatening Putin with collective diplomatic action should Russia decide to invade. Letting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continue to antagonize Putin and suck the U.S. into a military confrontation with the Russian Federation is sheer lunacy. Why Biden and Blinken choose to antagonize Russia and China is anyone’s guess? Neither country is about to back down and U.S. allies, including the European Union [EU] and NATO have no interest in military confrontation.
Biden and Blinken must dial back the threats with Russia and China, no longer threatening military action or sanctions over Ukraine or Taiwan. When Carter signed the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. agreed to recognize only one China. All the talk recently about defending the independence of Taiwan infuriated Beijing, the same way Biden and Blinken defend the rights of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. To get U.S.-Chinese back on track, Biden and Blinken must stop threatening sanctions or military action against Russia and China, unless Beijing and Moscow conform to U.S. expectations about human rights and democracy. When Biden speaks to Putin next week, he should listen carefully to what Putin wants to defuse a tensions over Ukraine. Biden should let Putin know that the U.S. has no intent of military confrontation with the Russian Federation, no matter what.
