More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in Northern Strike, a joint military exercise held in Michigan, US military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported yesterday.
The exercise ran throughout Michigan’s Great Lakes region from Aug. 2 to Saturday, featuring 7,500 participants across all branches of the US armed forces, as well as nine international partners.
Although officials did not comment on Taiwanese participation, the report cites an Aug. 4 briefing at which a defense official reportedly confirmed that 500 troops from Taiwan were set to participate, and a presentation slide which indicated that forces from Taiwan have participated since at least 2021.
Photo: Liu Yu-chieh, Taipei Times
In a departure from previous editions, this year’s exercises simulated a conflict in the Indo-Pacific, reflecting the US Department of Defense’s concern about tensions in the region, the report said.
“As we’ve seen the national priority shift ... we need to align and plan for that region,” the report cited a US Army official as saying.
The region’s geography allowed them to “replicate” the island environments US forces would have to fight in, the report cited another official as saying.
This included exercises such as resupplying at sea, delivering supplies to islands and operating aircraft out of dispersed island bases in the Indo-Pacific, the report said.
For example, the report describes the US Air Force using new corrosion-resistant materials to repair runways as part of “contingency” planning.
In August 2023, five Chinese students from the University of Michigan were caught spying at the camp that hosts the exercise, the report said, although arrest warrants remain outstanding on charges of conspiracy and lying to investigators.
Defense expert Mei Fu-hsing (梅復興) said that last year’s Northern Strike exercise also saw live-fire tests of loitering munitions, demonstrating increasing cooperation between the US and Taiwan.
US military sources said that senior Taiwanese military officials and representatives were present to observe the tests, he said.
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS