Photo/Illutration U.S. President Joe Biden during a joint news conference with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on May 23 (Pool)

Would the United States defend Taiwan if China invaded? Washington's traditional stance has been to remain vague, saying neither yes nor no.

But at a news conference in Tokyo, President Joe Biden said "yes" when asked if he was willing to get militarily involved to defend Taiwan if China invaded the island.

“That’s the commitment we made,” he said. 

The White House immediately released a statement to the effect that America's traditional policy has not changed.

Actually, this was the third time Biden has made a jaw-dropping remark over Taiwan's defense, and his minders had to scramble to put the fire out.

This has become like a "manzai" stand-up comedy act by two performers trading jokes--one called "tsukkomi" (the common sense one) and the other, "boke" (the flaky one).

The latter's words come across like gaffes, but they are carefully scripted, and the audience is expected to appreciate them more than the tsukkomi's jabs.

Biden may have wanted to warn China not to think of causing any trouble if it didn't want a war with the United States.

He probably was also aware of his own failure to stop Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Before the invasion, Biden had stated he had no plans to send U.S. troops in the event Ukraine was attacked.

With China, however, he felt the need to issue a clear warning in advance. If his comment had been based on that calculation, I do see some sense.

However, there is also a long, historical background that enabled Russia's heinous action.

The United States and Europe continued NATO's relentless eastward expansion. This probably resulted in letting Russian President Vladimir Putin nurture and exploit his people's victim mentality.

Is there any possibility of the military and economic noose the West has placed on China becoming dangerously too tight?

Never before has it been so difficult to strike the ideal balance between showing zero tolerance for violence and opening a channel of dialogue.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 25

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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