EPA
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News from the NOS•today, 02:41
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US President Biden said in an interview that the US military will defend Taiwan from a possible invasion of China.
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Biden was questioned about the situation around Taiwan on the program 60 minutes from the CBS television station, in which it claimed that the United States will act in an “unprecedented” attack.
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He then answered in the affirmative to the question whether, unlike Ukraine for example, American military personnel would actually defend Taiwan.
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Sensitive moment
Biden’s statements come at a delicate moment; relations between the US and China are already strained due to the recent visit to Taiwan by American top politician Nancy Pelosi.
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That visit to China was seen as a provocation; Beijing considers the island a renegade province. In the eyes of the Chinese, therefore, it is not possible to have official diplomatic relations with both China and Taiwan.
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After Pelosi’s visit in early August, China began a series of military exercises around Taiwan. The fire was fired from both air and water.
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Biden also said earlier this year that his country is willing to provide military assistance to Taiwan in an attack by China, but those words were later toned down by White House spokespersons.
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Concerns about Trump’s secret documents
In the interview with 60 minutes Biden also discussed the war in Ukraine and the case of confidential US government documents found at former President Trump’s Florida mansion.
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On Ukraine, Biden stressed that Ukraine is not losing the war and that US support will remain “for as long as necessary”.
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He is concerned about the discovery of the documents with Trump, he said, particularly the fact that sensitive information has gone public. Biden went on to wonder “how can anyone be so irresponsible”, referring to Trump.
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