Washington has expanded the training of Taiwanese troops by members of the US National Guard, the Nikkei Asia wrote in an exclusive report yesterday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
The expansion came after National Guard training programs helped Ukrainian forces repel a Russian invasion of the country, the Japanese newspaper wrote.
The National Guard is a strategic reserve force that is normally governed by US state governments and is called up to respond to natural disasters or civil unrest.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
However, US law also allows it to be deployed by the US government.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in May last year unveiled plans for training programs under the National Guard, saying during a visit to Taipei by US Senator Tammy Duckworth that the US Department of Defense is “proactively planning cooperation between the US National Guard and Taiwan’s defense forces.”
Citing sources directly involved in the joint training program, the Nikkei reported that the National Guard started training Taiwanese forces before Tsai’s announcement, adding that some of the personnel had been dispatched to Taiwan from Hawaii.
The National Guard runs training programs involving military units from about 80 countries worldwide, mostly under the US State Partnership Program (SPP). The training differs from country to country and can include infantry tactics, air operations, cyberdefense, disaster response, counterterrorism and medical support. The training involving Taiwanese forces is not under the SPP.
Under the program, nations’ troops mostly cooperate with the National Guard from only one state, while the training in Taiwan involves personnel from multiple states, the Nikkei cited a source as saying.
Taiwan also has more training options than countries participating in the SPP, they said.
“We don’t have a comment on specific operations, engagements or training, but I would highlight that our support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China,” the report quoted a Pentagon spokesperson as saying.
“Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region,” they said.
“Increased training through a partnership between Taiwan’s military and the US National Guard is, if confirmed, a significant step and one that has been talked about in Washington for a while,” the report quoted Jacob Stokes, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank, as saying.
“US National Guard training would likely be focused on improving Taiwan’s ability to leverage its reserve forces to greater effect in support of a whole-of-society military mobilization plan,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal in October 2021 reported that US special operations forces had been deployed to Taiwan for at least a year to conduct small-unit tactics training with the Taiwanese military.
Separately, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) on Jan. 3 reported that Taiwan expects to broaden its cooperation with the National Guard on training, tactics and individual combat skills, as the nation resumes one-year conscription, citing an anonymous source.
The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday said it has deployed its largest vessel and an aircraft to challenge a Chinese research ship operating off northern Batanes near Taiwan, adding that a Chinese coast guard vessel had also moved in. The Philippine operation “disrupted the vessel’s unauthorized marine scientific research and compelled it to leave its loitering position,” said Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson on South China Sea issues. The Philippine Coast Guard said the BRP Teresa Magbanua and an aircraft were deployed to counter the Chinese vessel, which it said had remained about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat Island since Monday. The
RUNWAY: Analysts said the first aircraft landing is expected by the middle of next year, while Chinese state media said it would serve civilian needs Chinese construction of a runway on Antelope Reef (Lingyang Reef, 羚羊礁) in the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), is well under way with analysts estimating it could be completed by the middle of next year, strengthening Beijing’s military control over the disputed South China Sea. Satellite images reviewed by Reuters show grading work, piles of gravel and concrete, and compaction cranes in operation to build a full-scale runway that military attaches and security analysts say could be one of China’s most important offshore bases in the region. The images, taken on Friday last week by commercial satellite imagery provider Vantor, also show
PLEA: How the UN addresses Taiwan’s security issue would be a test of its strength and relevance, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine told the UN General Assembly Only Taiwan’s elected government can represent the people of Taiwan, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said on Friday at the UN General Assembly, calling for the nation’s inclusion in the UN. Taiwan and its 23 million people are a reality, and only its democratically elected government can represent it, Heine said when addressing the 81st session of the UN General Assembly General Debate. Appropriate ways must be found for Taiwan’s substantive participation in UN meetings if the UN is to be truly inclusive and effective in years to come, she said. UN member states would experience pressure to accept a
RESILIENCE: Keeping the defense industry’s assembly lines open would prove essential should the nation be involved in a prolonged conflict, a source said The Ministry of National Defense has prepared a NT$22 billion (US$692.3 million) program to acquire about 200 improved Hsiung Feng anti-ship missiles from next year to 2035, a source said. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking defense official said the ministry’s plan for enhanced-capability Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III missiles would be funded as part of the regular defense budget. The 200 missiles would be added on top of the 1,400 missiles being funded via the Sea-Air Combat Power Improvement Plan, they said. The program is not about padding missile numbers, but expanding the capability to defeat
RSS