The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it welcomes the US’ ongoing efforts to help the country train its troops, after sources on Monday said that nearly 200 US military instructors are working in Taiwan.
The US advisers have been primarily assigned to boot camps and reserve brigades to observe Taiwan’s protocols and provide practical consultations on training methods, the sources within the armed forces said.
The input from US military advisers would help Taiwan formulate better training methods for when mandatory military service is next year extended from four months to one year, the sources said.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
The ministry appreciates the efforts of “an allied country in boosting the nation’s armed forces by means of military training,” ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) said.
He added that he would not give details on the collaboration, citing a mutual agreement.
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto US embassy, said that it does not comment on specific operations the US has in Taiwan, but reiterated Washington’s support for Taipei’s defense.
“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 remain aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China,” an AIT spokesperson said in an e-mail.
“Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region,” the spokesperson added.
Local media began reporting sightings of US advisers as early as March 27 at a base in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (岡山).
Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow at the National Policy Foundation in Taipei, said that if the advisers provide practical improvements, Taiwan’s military could make great strides.
The US military is familiar with strategic shooting and battlefield medical training, both of which could benefit conscripts, Chieh said.
Institute of National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said that the deployment of advisers, mainly from the US Army, was part of Washington’s efforts to fulfill the ambitions of the US National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, which seeks to deepen military exchanges with Taiwan and strengthen Taiwan’s defense capabilities.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard