The US is set to expand the number of troops helping train Taiwanese forces, two US officials said on Thursday, although the White House declined to comment on the details.
Reuters in 2021 reported that a small number of US special operations forces have been rotating into Taiwan on a temporary basis to train the military.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Pentagon was expected to increase that number in the coming months.
Photo: CNA
One of the officials said the exact number of increased troops was unclear.
“Our support for and defense relationship with Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China and consistent with our ‘one China’ policy. That has not changed,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about the report in a daily news briefing.
“Our commitment to Taiwan contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region,” she said.
On the decision to send more troops to Taiwan, Jean-Pierre said questions on specific troop numbers should be referred to the US Department of Defense, which had yet to respond to the report as of Thursday night.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei yesterday, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said he “did not know” the source of the information about expanded training.
He said that Taiwan and the US have substantial military interaction, which naturally includes personnel coming to teach how to use equipment the US sells to Taiwan.
However, it does not involve stationing troops in Taiwan, Chiu added.
The Wall Street Journal earlier on Thursday reported that the US was markedly increasing the number of troops deployed to Taiwan to bolster a training program for the military.
“The US plans to deploy between 100 and 200 troops to the island in the coming months, up from roughly 30 there a year ago,” the report said, citing US officials.
The larger force would expand a training program the Pentagon has taken pains not to publicize as the US works to provide Taipei with the capabilities it needs to defend itself without provoking Beijing, the report said.
The planned increase would also be the largest deployment of forces in decades by the US in Taiwan, as the two draw closer to counter China’s growing military power, the report said.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated in an online discussion on Thursday why the US felt the stakes in the Taiwan Strait were so high.
He said the high concern over a crisis across the Taiwan Strait exists because it is not an internal matter, as China frames it.
“It’s a matter of concern to quite literally the entire world,” he told Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic as they reviewed the implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Half of all commercial container traffic goes through that waterway every day, Blinken said, adding that most of the semiconductors that the world needs are produced in Taiwan.
“If there were a crisis in Taiwan as a result of China’s aggression in some fashion, that would have, I think, disastrous consequences for the world economy and for countries around the world, and that’s a message, too, that Beijing is hearing increasingly,” Blinken said.
IMMIGRATION REFORM: The legislative amendments aim to protect the rights of families to reunify, and to attract skilled professionals to stay and work in Taiwan Foreigners who are highly skilled professionals, top-prize winners in professional disciplines, investment immigration applicants or have made special contributions to Taiwan can soon apply for permanent residency on behalf of their spouses and minor or disabled children after the legislature approved amendments to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法). The amendments, which were proposed by the Ministry of the Interior and approved by the Executive Yuan on Jan. 12, aim to attract foreign talent to Taiwan and encourage them to stay. They would take effect once they are signed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). The amendments involved changing 63 articles, making it the biggest
FIRST STEP: Business groups in Taiwan welcomed the deal, which does not include tariff reductions at this stage, as they called for the elimination of double taxation Taiwan and the US yesterday signed an initial agreement under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade. The agreement was signed yesterday morning by Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Managing Director Ingrid Larson in Washington, the Office of Trade Negotiations in Taipei said. The ceremony was witnessed by Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) and Deputy US Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi. Taiwan and the US started talks under the initiative in August last year, after Taipei was left out of the Washington-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. “The deal that will be signed tonight is not only very historic,
Beijing yesterday blamed US “provocation” for an incident last week in which a Chinese plane crossed in front of a US surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea. The incident came at a time of frayed ties between Washington and Beijing over issues including Taiwan and the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US this year. “The United States’ long-term and frequent sending of ships and planes to conduct close surveillance on China seriously harms China’s national sovereignty and security,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧) said when asked about the latest incident. “This
‘GLOBAL NETWORK’: The only way to deter a Chinese invasion is for the international community to unite in its resolve, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roy Lee said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roy Lee (李淳) yesterday urged democratic nations around the world to not let Beijing dictate the definition of their “one China” policies, saying that they should increase cooperation with Taiwan to build a resilient democratic network. Lee made the remarks during his speech, titled “Ukraine and Taiwan: Why Global Unity Matters,” at the annual Bratislava Forum in Slovakia. “People in Taiwan have been paying close attention to the situation in Ukraine and admire Ukrainians for defending their homeland. They are [also] fighting for Taiwan and democratic countries around the world,” Lee told forum participants. “The international
RSS