US will keep supporting Taiwan’s ‘asymmetric’ defence efforts, Antony Blinken says
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken faces questions from US lawmakers of both parties about President Joe Biden’s resolve on Taiwan
- He says the administration will help make sure the island ‘has all necessary means to defend itself against any potential aggression’
The US government will support Taiwan’s efforts to build “asymmetric” defence capabilities meant to deter an attack by mainland China’s military, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers on Tuesday, amid questions from members of both parties about US President Joe Biden’s resolve on the issue.
Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Blinken said the administration was “determined to make sure that [Taiwan] has all necessary means to defend itself against any potential aggression, including unilateral action by China, to disrupt the status quo that’s been in place now for many decades”.
“We’re focused on helping them think about how to strengthen asymmetric capabilities … as a deterrent,” he said.
There has been heightened concern about a possible attack on Taiwan by Beijing’s military since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and the mainland stepped up fighter jet sorties near the island even before the war began.
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“I think we are now aligned between our views of what their asymmetric capabilities need to be, and their views, which is an important thing,” said the committee’s chairman, Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey. “So I look forward to our robust engagement to help them have the capacity capabilities of that asymmetric capability.”
