The US is to station Marine security guards at the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) new complex in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), which is to begin operations in September, sources familiar with the matter said.
The mission of Marine security guards is different from that of other US Marines, whose primary mission is combat, the sources said.
According to internal US mechanisms, before sending the guards overseas, the US assesses the safety conditions of the country and of the embassy facilities, and uses this information to determine how many guards to send, they said.
Photo: CNA
Rather than an increase in security standards, the stationing of the guards at the AIT could be considered a representation of how much the US values its relationship with Taiwan, they said.
In response to media speculation that US Marines would be stationed at the complex, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said that the AIT’s internal security arrangements are its own affair and that the Presidential Office has no comment.
Based on reciprocity, the military hopes to resume stationing military police at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US and at its Twin Oaks residence in Washington to show that military cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and the US have entered a new stage, an unnamed senior government official said yesterday.
Military police were still stationed at the office and at Twin Oaks following the severing of diplomatic ties between the Republic of China and the US in 1979, sources said.
However, due to efforts by the Ministry of National Defense to streamline its organization, the number of officers stationed at the locations was reduced to five, the sources said.
In 2004, the five military police officers were withdrawn and since then, Taiwan has hired local security personnel to guard the two locations, they said.
Earlier this year, former AIT director Stephen Young said that a “marine house” would be established inside the new complex in Taipei and that this was something he fought for during his tenure.
The marine house is often the center of diplomatic activities, and the new complex represents the US’ commitment to Taiwan, Young said at the time.
Asked in May about rumors that US Marines would be stationed at the complex, then-AIT director Kin Moy, who left office this month, said that the security plans for the complex remained unchanged.
Citing two US officials, CNN last month reported that the US Department of State had requested that US Marines be sent to Taiwan to guard the compound.
“One US official said that while the request for Marine security guards was received several weeks ago, it has not yet been formally approved and coordination about its deployment is ongoing between the state department’s Diplomatic Security Service and the Marines,” CNN reported at the time.
Additional reporting by Lo Tien-pin
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS