US forces in Taiwan to help with training armed forces
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According to Taiwanese media, around 200 American troops are now stationed throughout the country.
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A CM-11 Brave Tiger tank fires during the live fire Han Kuang military exercise in Pingtung, Taiwan, May 30, 2019. (Reuters)
According to Taiwanese media, around 200 American troops are now stationed throughout the country.
According to the report's sources, the US Indo-Pacific Command has dispatched more than 200 troops to Taiwan to help the island's armed forces with training.
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When pressed to confirm the deployment, the Pentagon refused to comment but reiterated its support for Taipei.
Pentagon spokesperson, Lt. Col. Martin Meiners stated that the US does not have a comment on specific operations, engagements, or training, but highlights that the "support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People's Republic of China."
Meiners affirmed that the US commitment to Taiwan remains "rock solid" and contributes to "peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.
80% of the more than 200 instructors are from the United States Army. The majority of the American instructors are stationed at new training facilities in Taiwan's army reserve brigades.
Despite the fact that Washington cut diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979, the US continues to send a small number of military trainers to Taiwan and militarize the island through arms sales.
The limited US military presence in Taiwan was always an open secret, but it wasn't formally recognized until 2021 when President Tsai ing Wen became the first Taiwanese leader to admit US forces had been stationed on the island since 1979.
US militarization of the island
The increased presence of US forces in Taiwan risks eliciting a retaliatory response from China, which has already warned against increasing US-Taiwan ties.
The People's Liberation Army of China has conducted extensive live fire training in and near Taiwan, following a visit to the US by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who was welcomed in California by US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Beijing is hostile to Taiwan's developing ties with the US, since the One China principle, to which the US has agreed, deems Taiwan to be part of its territory.
According to Bloomberg News, Taiwan is in the process of purchasing hundreds of land-launched Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the US. Citing US Taiwan Business Council President Rupert Hammond Chambers, Taiwan was poised to purchase 400 missiles under the $1.17 billion contract announced by the Pentagon on April 7.
The Pentagon stated at the time that production would be finished by March 2029. In response to the news story, Taiwan's Defense Ministry stated that it had already published details regarding the acquisition and that it was certain the transaction would go as planned.
