The US yesterday confirmed that it will post military officers to its mission in Taipei for the first time since 1979, when the US switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing.
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokeswoman Dana Shell Smith confirmed the Jane's Defence Weekly report that Washington will start posting active-duty military officers to the AIT.
In a news release, Dana said the AIT has been hiring retired US military officers as contractors to coordinate defense assistance to Taiwan.
"Non-uniformed, active-duty military and Department of Defense civilian personnel will now replace these contractors. They are being detailed to AIT as part of the normal rotation of personnel," she said.
"This is a personnel matter ... Our policy towards Taiwan has not changed," she said.
China voiced strong opposition yesterday to the development, saying the move violated Sino-US agreements.
Foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao (
"Whatever excuse or method the US side uses to develop military relations with Taiwan violates the principles of the three Sino-US joint communiques, will encourage Taiwan separatist activities and harm peace and stability in the Taiwan region as well as China-US relations," Liu said.
Jane's Defence Weekly reported on Sunday that the Pentagon would gradually send active-duty military personnel to replace civilian contractors at the AIT, starting with the deployment of a US army officer to head a Technical Liaison Section mid-next year.
The Pentagon had considered stationing an active-duty officer in Taipei in 2000, but put off the plan because of concerns about Beijing's protests, the weekly said, quoting an unidentified source.
Meanwhile, a US expert with close ties to the Pentagon said on Monday that the US will not be the first country with no diplomatic ties with Taiwan to have stationed an active-duty officer in Taipei.
The expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, for example, France has long posted an active-duty officer in Taiwan.
To the best of his knowledge, he said, a French military officer was promoted to the rank of major-general after concluding his stint in Taiwan.
The expert said US law must be revised before the Pentagon sends active-duty military staff to Taiwan.
Under the law, active-duty military personnel must first apply for duty suspension before going to Taiwan and their service stint in Taiwan cannot be counted into their seniority when they return to continue their service in the military. As the suspension of seniority can affect promotions, few US military officers would be interested in serving in Taiwan.
The Pentagon will discuss possible revisions with Congress with reference to French provisions, the expert said.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
RSS