U-S President Joe Biden isn't ruling out the possibility of using military
force to defend Taiwan if China unilaterally tries to change the cross-strait
status quo.

In an interview with Time magazine, Biden said he has made clear to China's
Xi Jinping that the United States will not seek independence for Taiwan -- as
has been Washington's longstanding practice.

But he said the U.S. would also not rule out using military force if China
were to "unilaterally try to change the status."

As a result, Washington would continue to -- in his words 'supply capacity'
-- and that it had been "in consultation with its allies in the region.

The US president did not say what form military force might take, saying that
there was 'a distinction between deploying on the ground, air power and naval
power.'

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