Biden’s vow to protect Taiwan, walked back by White House, could be sign of internal policy debate experts say

President Biden’s statement last week, later walked back by the White House, that the U.S would protect Taiwan in the case of an attack by Beijing, could be a window into an ongoing policy debate about the Biden administration’s strategy in the region, experts told Fox News.

“China, Russia, and the rest of the world knows we have the most powerful military in the history of the world. Don’t worry about whether we’re going to – they’re going to be more powerful,” Biden said in the CNN town hall. “What you do have to worry about is whether or not they’re going to engage in activities that will put them in a position where they may make a serious mistake.”

AFTER BIDEN SAYS US WOULD DEFEND TAIWAN FROM ATTACK, CHINA SAYS THERE’S ‘NO ROOM FOR COMPROMISE’ 

Further pushed about whether the United States would defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack, Biden added: “Yes. Yes, we have a commitment to do that.”

The remark quickly made headlines, as the U.S. policy for decades has been one of “strategic ambiguity” toward how it would respond to such an attack. The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act commits the U.S. to support Taiwan, including providing it defensive capabilities, but not necessarily to engage in a military conflict.

Beijing, meanwhile, views Taiwan as a breakaway province and claims that it is part of its own territory. The two countries split in 1949 and China has been increasing pressure on the self-ruled nation, while opposing its involvement in international organizations. The U.S. does not formally recognize Taiwan, but maintains an unofficial alliance.

There have been calls for the U.S. to move away from strategic ambiguity and instead move toward a policy of strategic clarity in the face of increasing aggression from Beijing — which has seen the communist regime send dozens of military aircraft toward Taiwan.

After Biden’s…