AUKUS to play key role in new US strategy to deter China from Taiwan aggression

Australia is set to play a key role in the United States’ new defence strategy to deter China from invading Taiwan.

The United States will resist any “force or coercion” against Taiwan under Joe Biden’s new national security strategy that paints this as the “decisive decade” to avoid conflict with China.

Australia is positioned to play a central role in the President’s plan, which reaffirms America’s “iron-clad” commitment to its allies in the Indo-Pacific region that will be “the epicentre of 21st century geopolitics”.

“The People’s Republic of China harbours the intention and, increasingly, the capacity to reshape the international order in favour of one that tilts the global playing field to its benefit, even as the United States remains committed to managing the competition between our countries responsibly,” Mr Biden said.

“Our world is at an inflection point. How we respond to the tremendous challenges and the unprecedented opportunities we face today will determine the direction of our world and impact the security and prosperity of the American people for generations to come.”

Amid tensions over Taiwan, US President Joe Biden revealed a new plan to combat China Pictures: Agencies

The strategy was due to be released earlier this year but was delayed by the White House as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The document, released on Thursday, warned China was “increasingly aligned” with Russia but posed a far greater challenger because it was America’s “only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it”.

“We are now in the early years of a decisive decade for America and the world,” the strategy said.

“The terms of geopolitical competition between the major powers will be set. The window of opportunity to deal with shared threats, like climate change, will narrow drastically.”

“The actions we take now will shape whether this period is known as an age of conflict and discord or the beginning of a more stable and prosperous future.”

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the strategy highlighted that while China represented America’s “most consequential geopolitical challenge”, the US wanted to avoid seeing competition turn into conflict or a new Cold War.

Amid mounting speculation about China’s intention to reclaim Taiwan, the strategy maintained America’s consistent position to oppose “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side”.

“We will uphold our commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act to support Taiwan’s self-defence and to maintain our capacity to resist any resort to force or coercion against Taiwan,” it said.

US President Joe Biden arrives to board Air Force One. Picture: AFP

The US has long held a deliberate position of strategic ambiguity on the question of whether it would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, although Mr Biden has on several occasions recently vowed that US troops would be deployed in such a scenario.

In the strategy, Mr Biden emphasised the AUKUS defence pact including Australia, the US and the UK as a key example of America’s focus on deepening America’s “unmatched network of alliances and partnerships to uphold and strengthen the principles and institutions that have enabled so much stability, prosperity, and growth for the last 75 years”.

The document promised the US would support its allies including Australia which were “on the front lines of the PRC’s coercion”.

Originally published as AUKUS to play key role in new US strategy to deter China from Taiwan aggression