U.S. President Joe Biden. Image taken from facebook.com/POTUS

Taipei, June 4 (CNA) U.S. President Joe Biden said he does not rule out the possibility of using military force to defend Taiwan if China unilaterally tries to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

In an interview with Time magazine published on Tuesday, Biden said he has made clear to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that the United States will not seek independence for Taiwan as Washington had agreed with Beijing.

However, Biden added whether the U.S. uses military force to help protect Taiwan will depend on whether “China unilaterally tries to change the status” across the Taiwan Strait.

If China tries to change the status quo unilaterally, “we’re continuing to supply capacity (to Taiwan),” Biden said. “We’ve been in consultation with our allies in the region.”

Time cited CIA director Bill Burns as saying Xi has ordered the Chinese military to be ready to conduct a successful invasion of Taiwan by 2027.

Prior to the interview Biden had said on at least four separate occasions that the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the event of attacks by China, since taking office in 2021.

On one occasion, when asked by host Anderson Cooper during a CNN town hall in Baltimore on Oct. 21, 2021 whether the U.S. “would come to Taiwan’s defense if China attacked,” Biden replied: “Yes, we have a commitment to do that.”

In a pre-recorded interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” program that aired on Sept. 18, 2022, Biden said the U.S. would defend Taiwan “if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.”