In what amounts to an abandonment of our official Taiwan policy, President Biden has several times made full-throated declarations that he would deploy the military to protect Taiwan from China. This, only to have his declarations immediately and repeatedly walked back by staff.

Each time the president makes this assertion, White House officials attempt to reassure the American people that the U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity has not changed. But Biden’s persistent edicts nevertheless signal a belief that the commander-in-chief can engage in bombastic rhetoric without consequence.

As if compelled to ensure that the law matches the president’s pronouncements, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently approved legislation that would formally change America’s diplomatic posture toward Taiwan. The sponsors of the bill, Democrat Bob Menendez and Republican Lindsey Graham, tout the legislation as “the most comprehensive restructuring of U.S. policy towards Taiwan” since 1979.

That statement is perhaps the only point of agreement I have with the authors of this misguided piece of legislation.