20210818/19：蘇利文與拜登

【縛雞之見】英文請拷到 Google / DeepL 找中文翻譯

Jacob Sullivan, the National Security Advisor of the White House, declared that “We believe our commitment to Taiwan and Israel remains as strong as it’s ever been” in response to the question of a journalist in a press briefing on August 18th.
The people in Taiwan welcome to see for the first time that Taiwan is put a status equivalent to Israel on the U.S. strategic agenda.
What we have to note is that the words are in Sullivan’s response. Did Sullivan mean to make the juxtaposition or just an ordinary answer?  I have to regret to say that Sullivan’s further explanation was interrupted by a wordy journalist.
However, on the very next day, the ABC interviewed President Biden, in which Biden echoed Sullivan's unfinished response and made the context clearer.
President Biden placed Taiwan, South Korea, NATO, and Japan side by side and emphasized that Taiwan and South Korea are not an issue of the civil war, implying the U.S. and other foreign countries have the right to intervene with or without invitation.  It's the first time the U.S. President made his view so clear, then stressed that it is a sacred commitment.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You talked about our adversaries, China and Russia.  You already see China telling Taiwan, "See?  You can't count on the Americans." (LAUGH)

BIDEN: Sh-- why wouldn't China say that?  Look, George, the idea that w-- there's a fundamental difference between-- between Taiwan, South Korea, NATO.  We are in a situation where they are in-- entities we've made agreements with based on not a civil war they're having on that island or in South Korea, but on an agreement where they have a unity government that, in fact, is trying to keep bad guys from doin' bad things to them.
We have made-- kept every commitment.  We made a sacred commitment to Article Five that if in fact anyone were to invade or take action against our NATO allies, we would respond.  Same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with-- Taiwan. It's not even comparable to talk about that.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/full-transcript-abc-news-george-stephanopoulos-interview-president/story?id=79535643

 

20210817白宮記者會　蘇利文：阿富汗事件與台灣

Q    Yeah.  What is President Biden’s response to the people of Afghanistan who are now in the hands of the Taliban terrorists and feel abandoned by the United States, or to those in Taiwan and elsewhere that are fearful that the U.S. will abandon them to the aggression of China?
And a follow-up to that is: What is President Biden’s response to people in Israel and other countries who might also believe the U.S. will abandon them to terrorists?
MR. SULLIVAN:  So, to the first question, President Biden and all of us, as I said in my opening comments, are heartbroken by the human consequences that have unfolded and could continue to unfold in Afghanistan.
We believe passionately in human rights and human dignity, and we want to work with the international community to advance that wherever we can.
But President Biden was not prepared to have American men and women continue to fight and die in the civil war of another country in order to achieve that.  We will use every other tool at our disposal to achieve that, and we will do so day after day, month after month in the period ahead on behalf of the people of Afghanistan.
To your question about allies: We gave 20 years of American blood, treasure, sweat, and tears in Afghanistan.  We gave them every capacity, in terms of training and equipment, to stand up and fight for themselves.  And at some point, it was the time for the United States to say that the Afghan people had to stand up for themselves.
We believe that our commitments to our allies and partners are sacrosanct and always have been.  We believe our commitment to Taiwan and to Israel remains as strong as it’s ever been.
Keep in mind that, with respect to Afghanistan, we said back in 2011 that we would be out in 2014.  We stayed another seven years — far and above and beyond the commitment that we made more than a decade ago.
And the last thing that I would say is that President Biden is laser-focused on accomplishing the core national security objectives of the United States.  And when it comes to Afghanistan, that was getting bin Laden and degrading al Qaeda.  We accomplished that, and he believes it was time for our troops to come home.

 

Q    (Inaudible.)
MR. SULLIVAN:  When it comes to Taiwan, it is a fundamentally different question in a — in a different context.

Q    The Korean War was a civil war, and the United States (inaudible).
MR. SULLIVAN:  And so from our perspective, what we need to focus on —

Q    How is this different?
MR. SULLIVAN:  Well, I’m sorry.  I’ll take the next question if you won’t let me answer.

Q    And then, the last question: What are we doing to counter message with what’s happening right now with China in Taiwan?  The President said yesterday that China and Russia would love nothing more than to have the U.S. sink billions of dollars and stay here forever.  But it seems to be that they’re celebrating this.  They were touting “U.S. humiliation” in Afghanistan.  In a warning to Taiwan and other allies, “the U.S. won’t come to help if war breaks out.”  China’s embassy is functioning as normal.  So what are we doing to counter their propaganda?  And how does the administration view Russia and China’s engagement with the Taliban?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, first, we, of course, are in touch with the Chinese and the Russians as we — as we work to bring men and women out of Afghanistan and — including our SIV applicants and others.
Our message is very clear: We stand by, as is outlined in the Taiwan Relations Agreement, by our — by individuals in Taiwan.  We stand by partners around the world who are subject to this kind of propaganda that Russia and China are projecting.  And we’re going to continue to deliver on those words with actions.
Our objective in Afghanistan is to deliver also on what the President promised, which is to not put the men and women who have served our country bravely over the past 20 years in harm’s way again.  And that’s what we’ll also be projecting to them as well.