I know the military has contingencies for everything, from global warming to global cooling to alien invasion. I knew that when I asked the question.
But, changing our Taiwan policy and committing to putting troops there in the event of conflict is a bit different. It is like changing our Two War Doctrine, and it should cause the military to start making preparations so that they can begin deployments there quickly. At a minimum, I'd think they would update those contingencies. So, my questions stand:
Are the US military and Xi treating this like a change in doctrine? Or, are they ignoring Biden's statements?
If they are doing nothing, as you imply, then I guess that means they are going with option 2, and ignoring the president's supposed change in policy.
I am curious why you think a change in policy like that would have zero effect on our military and on China. If it has no effect, then it is no big deal that he changed it. Is that your position?