Less than a week after a Chinese military aircraft shot down a Taiwanese surveillance balloon, US President Joe Biden has taunted Chinese President Xi Jinping over the incident.
Biden took the opportunity to comment on the incident during a speech at the State Department on Wednesday, saying: “I’m sending a message to President Xi that the United States will stand up for the rights of people who are striving to express themselves.”
The incident in question took place on April 25th, when a Chinese military aircraft shot down a Taiwanese surveillance balloon over the Taiwan Strait. According to the Taiwanese government, the balloon was part of its ongoing efforts to monitor air and sea activity in the region. In response to the incident, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen warned China that it should “not underestimate the determination of the people of Taiwan to defend our sovereignty and freedom.” The United States also condemned the incident The US condemnation of the incident was met with a swift response from Beijing, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying saying the US statement was “full of arrogance and prejudice.”
The incident is the latest in a series of escalating tensions between the United States and China, as the two countries spar over a range of issues, including trade, human rights and the South China Sea. In his speech Wednesday, Biden also reaffirmed his commitment to defending the rights of people to express themselves, saying: “We can’t stand idly by when autocrats around the world trample on human rights, when they use violence and intimidation to stifle free speech and free expression.”
The US President’s comments come as the White House is considering sanctions against Chinese officials over their alleged human rights abuses, including the mass detention of Uyghur Muslims in the country’s Xinjiang region. It remains to be seen how China will respond to Biden’s taunts and the potential sanctions, but it’s clear that tensions between the two countries are likely to remain high in the coming months. With both sides seemingly unwilling to back down, the prospects for a peaceful resolution to the standoff appear to be dwindling.
For now, Biden’s comments are a clear message to Beijing that the United States is prepared to defend the rights of people who are striving to express themselves. With China showing no signs of backing down over its human rights abuses, and Biden vowing to stand up to autocrats around the world, it looks like the confrontation between the two countries is set to continue.