TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In an interview on "60 Minutes" which aired on Sunday (Feb. 23), Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders made it clear that he would direct the U.S. military to intervene if China took military action against Taiwan.

During an excerpt in which Anderson Cooper delved into the Vermont senator's proposed foreign policy and asked whether, given his emphasis on diplomacy, the candidate felt there were situations in which military action was necessary, Sanders said, "Absolutely, of course I do. You know, hopefully it's as rare as possible. But yeah, we have the best military in the world."

When Cooper asked Sanders what his criteria for military action would be, Sanders said, "Threats against the American people to be sure. Threats against our allies, I believe in NATO. I believe that the United States, everything being equal, should be working with other countries in alliance, not doing it alone."

Most relevant to Taiwan viewers, Cooper then asked what his response as president would be if China took military action against Taiwan. Sanders responded by saying, "That's something, yeah. I mean, I think we have got to make it clear to countries around the world that we will not sit by and allow invasions to take place. Absolutely."

At the end of the excerpt, Cooper asked if he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Sanders said that he would meet with the leader, noting that he had criticized President Trump for many things but that he agreed that "meeting with people who are antagonistic is to me not a bad thing to do."

In reference to the 2019 North Korea-United States Hanoi Summit, Sanders lamented that Trump met with Kim unprepared and that it was mainly just a "photo opportunity." He said that the last meeting failed because it did not have the diplomatic preparation "necessary to make it a success."

Sanders was a pacifist as a college student in the 1960s, when he applied for conscientious objector status during the Vietnam war. However, as a U.S. senator, he voted in favor of the use of military force in Afghanistan after the attacks on 9/11 but opposed both the Gulf War and Iraq War.

Sanders' stance in support of Taiwan comes as welcome news to Taiwanese, as Sanders and other Democratic presidential candidates had been largely silent about their policy on the island nation during the campaign thus far. When President Tsai Ing-wen was reelected on Jan. 11, only former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg posted tweets.