The United States is more than quadrupling the current number of military forces stationed in Taiwanreported in the “Wall Street Journal”.
The move is aimed at expanding the island’s military training program amid a growing threat from China.
The US intends to deploy between 100 and 200 troops to the island in the coming months, compared with only about 30 service members a year ago, U.S. officials said. They explained that the training program, which the Pentagon has been careful not to publicize, will be expanded as the United States works to give Taipei the necessary self-defense capabilities without provoking Beijing.
For the past few years, US troops on the island, which have included soldiers from special operations forces and US Marines, have been thin.
The planned increase would be the largest deployment of US forces to Taiwan in decades, as the two countries converge in an attempt to counter China’s growing military power.
In addition to training in Taiwan, a contingent of the Taiwanese military is also trained in the US by the Michigan National Guard.
US officials revealed that the increased military presence on the island had been planned for months – long before relations between the US and China were strained again this month after a suspected Chinese spy balloon crossed North America and was shot down by the US Air Force.
The news comes hours after China’s military reiterated its readiness to take action to deal with any separatist attempts by Taiwan.
Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by China, which claims the democratically-ruled island as part of its territory and must be taken – by force if necessary.
CIA: Do not underestimate China’s ambitions towards Taiwan
Xi has ordered his military to be ready to invade self-ruled Taiwan by 2027.
PIn 2005, Beijing passed a law giving the country a legal basis for military action against the island. if he secedes or intends to do so.
However, Taiwan rejects China’s claims and emphasizes that only the island’s residents can decide their future.
Beijing’s increased military activity around the island has drawn the attention of Taiwan and its friendly countries, such as the United States and Japan, to how any conflict with China might play out and how Taiwan and its allies might respond.
Taipei has already warned that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan or the seizure of its offshore island shall be considered an act of war.
The Pentagon doubts that China will inevitably invade Taiwan
Despite Beijing’s increased military activity around the island
