According to the Defense Manpower Data Center, a Pentagon office that aggregates troop data, there are currently 39 US troops in Taiwan, including 29 US Marines, 5 airmen, 3 sailors, and 2 soldiers. This witnesses an increase from June, which had seen 30 US soldiers who were active and on duty, in addition to 15 civilians who were serving on the island, including 23 US Marines, according to Foreign Policy. 

The Biden Administration has been sneakily dispatching an increasing number of US soldiers to Taiwan over the past few months under the pretext of protecting the US Embassy and training Taiwanese troops. 

US presence in the South China Sea has been growing recently as the military giant attempts to benefit from Taiwan tensions to coerce China. 

Empty promises?

Recently, China warned against supporting the 'independence' of Taiwan, which has recently sparked sequences of tensions in the South China Sea. In this context, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that support for Taiwan's independence will disrupt regional peace and stability, thus causing substantial damage, as per history and reality. He warned the US not to "send wrong signals" in order not to cause disruption. 

Yi urged the US to not only abstain from support but also to drop notions of "Taiwan independence" and to keep the word they gave in the previous three China-US communiqués. He also urged Biden to stick to the One-China policy with real actions rather than empty promises. 

Blinken, on his part, promised that the US would exchange views on bilateral relations as long as there is mutual respect.