The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area.
The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital.
Photo courtesy of the Military News Agency
That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station the brigade at National Defense University’s Fu Hsing College in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), the first combat unit based in Taipei, the source said.
The personnel currently deployed to the airport are about the strength of a company, another source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Plans for how long troops would remain in the area, or whether their remit would expand to jointly protect Taipei’s Boai Special District (博愛特區) alongside military police, have yet to be finalized, the source said.
The Boai Special District has a high concentration of ministries and other government buildings, including the Presidential Office Building at its center.
Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), speaking on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) on Lunar New Year’s Eve, thanked the air force, army and navy for their hard work and sacrifices on behalf of the country.
In photographs released by the Military News Agency, soldiers with marine equipment could be seen in the foreground with commercial airliners and civilian buildings in the background, confirming their deployment to Songshan airport.
To defend against “decapitation strikes” against the capital, the 66th Marine Brigade has been reorganized as a strategic reserve force directly under the command of the general staff to support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei, the source said.
As part of its reorganization efforts to better support the military police presence in Taipei, the 66th Marine Brigade is to follow the example of the US Marine Corps and remove its armor and artillery units, the source said.
In their place, the brigade would add a drone unit, they added.
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