Lloyd Austin won’t discuss “hypothetical” where China attacks Taiwan after Biden comments

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday declined to discuss a hypothetical situation in which China attacked Taiwan after being probed by a reporter, the Associated Press reported. His refusal to speak on any speculative acts of aggression against Taiwan came after President Joe Biden commented that the U.S. was committed to defending the island if China did launch an attack. Austin, who was in Brussels, Belgium, after a NATO defense ministers’ meeting, did say that the U.S. was still committed to its “one China” policy, or its acknowledgment of only one Chinese government. He added that Washington hopes the situation between China and Taiwan doesn’t escalate further, the AP reported. “Nobody wants to see cross-Strait issues come to blows—certainly not President Biden, and there’s no reason that it should,” he said. Biden said Thursday that the U.S. did not want another Cold War, but voiced concerns about the possibility of an attack from China. “I just want to make China understand that we are not going to step back, we are not going to change any of our views,” Biden said, adding that the U.S. does have a “commitment” to defend Taiwan when asked. For more reporting from the… Read full this story

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