Amid rising tensions with China, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng hinted that United States troops have been training the Taiwanese military on remote islands that would be on the front line of a conflict with the your neighbor.
The defense minister did not give further details about the US deployment, but the outlying islands include Kinmen, which is 5 km east of the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen and more than 160 km from the main island of Taiwan.
“This exchange is for mutual observation, to identify the problems we have and figure out how to improve and recognize the strengths so that we can learn from them,” Chiu said in response to questions about US troops on Taiwan’s outlying islands.
The comments represented a rare acknowledgment by Taiwan of US troop activity on its territory.
Chiu’s comments came in response to questions about a report from Sofrep, an online publication focused on national security, which said US Special Forces instructors would be sent to Kinmen and other remote islands that are home to Taiwan’s elite forces. .
Lt. Col. Marty Meiners, a Pentagon spokesman, said he would not comment on specific operations or training. “Our commitment to Taiwan is solid and contributes to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region,” he said.
Tags: Taiwan recognizes troop presence remote islands focuses military training
