Hosting foreign military advisers is within the scope of regular exchanges, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday after a US defense media outlet said that US Army Special Forces are to be deployed for training missions in Kinmen and Penghu counties.
Speaking on the sidelines of a legislative session, Chiu told reporters that the armed forces conduct exchanges with foreign militaries to find “blindspots and flaws” in Taiwan’s defense preparations and design, and “to learn from the strengths of others.”
As for the report’s claim that Taiwan’s Aviation and Special Forces Command has proposed buying the Black Hornet Nano, a micro drone that the US military uses, Chiu said there were “no specific talks on procuring arms” in connection with the presence of the US military advisers.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
SOFREP, an online outlet founded by US special operations veterans, on Friday last week said that Washington has launched a “significant military collaboration” with Taiwan involving the deployment of special forces in Kimen and Penghu.
Citing the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, SOFREP said that a growing presence of a liaison element is currently in Taiwan to plan for deploying small detachments of the 1st Special Forces Group’s 2nd Battalion.
The detachments, consisting of three soldiers each, are to become permanent training observers of Taiwan’s elite Airborne Special Service Company and the 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion, the report said.
The US advisers would be involved in regular training exercises, creating joint operational guidelines and training manuals, and providing instructions for operating the Black Hornet Nano, which Taiwan plans to buy from the US via direct military sale, it said.
The US’ plans mark a departure from the previous practice of dispatching frequent, but impermanent training and observation missions to Taiwan, it said.
Asked to comment at a routine news conference, Ministry of Foreign Affairs North American Affairs Department Director-General Wang Liang-yu (王良玉) said that the “six assurances” and the Taiwan Relations Act form the basis of US security guarantees to the nation, which remain strong.
The ministry has no additional comment on the content of the report, she added.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a fellow at the Institute of National Defense and Security Research, was cited as saying that the US Army Special Forces are known for their defensive prowess.
The integration of the US special forces into Taiwan’s special reconnaissance and amphibious operations units would augment the nation’s capability to counter incursions by hostile forces, the report cited him as saying.
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