Image source,Office of the President, ROC (Taiwan)
President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan accepts an exclusive interview with CNN.
After U.S. President Joe Biden recently stated on CNN that the U.S. has “committed to Taiwan”, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen aired on Wednesday (October 28).CNN interviewChina has confirmed for the first time that there are US troops in Taiwan assisting Taiwan’s military training. She also said that she has “faith” (faith) in the United States‘ defense against Taiwan.
In addition, Tsai Ing-wen emphasized that if Chinese President Xi Jinping is willing, he “will sit down and talk with him to avoid misjudgment”, which has aroused high attention from Taiwanese public opinion.
InterpretationTsai Ing-wen’s talk, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense think tank “National Defense Security Research Institute” Dr. Su Ziyun analyzed the BBC’s Chinese language and stated that the English used by Tsai Ing-wen in the interview is “presence of military trainers”, which refers to the existence of the US military rather than the formal “US military garrison”. Military terms, such as residence or station. Su Ziyun said that this “highlights the sophisticated and precise diplomatic language of President Tsai, and at the same time conveys the sincerity of dialogue to Beijing.”
Su Ziyun also emphasized that Tsai Ing-wen’s statement on this matter “should have a tacit agreement with the United States”: on the one hand, it should not excessively stimulate China, and on the other hand, it should show the fact that the US military is assisting Taiwan.
When asked about Tsai Ing-wen’s speech at a regular press conference on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, “The one-China principle is the political foundation of Sino-US relations. With regard to the Taiwan issue, the United States should abide by the one-China principle and the three Sino-US relations. A joint communiqué stipulates, not something unilaterally concocted by oneself.”
What did Tsai Ing-wen say?
This interview is Tsai Ing-wen’s first interview with foreign media nearly two years after winning the election in 2020. Among them, the two announcements mentioned by Tsai Ing-wen have particularly attracted the attention of the outside world. The first is that since October this year, it has been disclosed by the media that there is a sensitive topic of “garrison” by the US military in Taiwan. The Taiwanese government, which has always kept a low profile on this issue, was confirmed in an interview with Tsai Ing-wen.
Tsai Ing-wen said in an exclusive interview that there are US military training officials in Taiwan, “the number is not as large as everyone thinks.”
Tsai Ing-wen was the first Taiwanese president to confirm the presence of active US troops in Taiwan after the United States diplomatically recognized the People’s Republic of China and left Taiwan.
Image source,Getty Images
Taiwan’s Marine Corps special forces conduct an anti-aggression exercise on Kinmen Island in Kinmen (data photo on May 25, 2019).
In fact, relevant news began to be disclosed in the international media last year. In early 2020, the U.S. military released a video showing “U.S. Special Forces” training soldiers in Taiwan, but it was deleted later. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense was unwilling to comment on this issue.
In October 2021, the “Wall Street Journal” quoted a US official to report on the details of US military training in Taiwan. The report emphasized that the reason for this deployment was Beijing’s military buildup over the years and recent threats against Taiwan. The US Department of Defense is concerned about Taiwan’s tactical capabilities.
However, a person familiar with the situation in Taiwan who did not want to be named told the BBC that the US-Taiwan military cooperation training is not to deal with the recent tension in the Taiwan Strait, nor is it a temporary military plan, but regular training.
This Monday (October 25), the American magazine “Business Insider” (Business Insider) further revealed the secret training methods of “U.S. Special Forces” in Taiwan. Among them, the training focused on forming a blockade and encirclement of China. The report said that the U.S. military deployed members of the U.S. Army’s special forces known as “Green Berets” to Taiwan to assist in the training of the Taiwan military. The training activities seemed to be related to high-intensity combat.
Taiwan’s Defense Minister Qiu Guozheng stated in the Taiwan Legislative Yuan on Wednesday that the U.S. military “is to assist. Some people have arrived in Taiwan but no troops are stationed. And they (the U.S. military) will of course live here if they want to come for training. It is an area of exchange. .”
Su Ziyun analyzed that the so-called green flat hats should only be one of the troops that came to Taiwan to assist in training. “The main task of the research and judgment is to assist Taiwan’s Liangshan troops in special operations to strengthen the resilience of Taiwan’s local defense.”
Regarding cross-strait relations, Tsai Ing-wen told the US media that for regional peace, she is willing to “sit down and talk” with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Tsai Ing-wen emphasized that she has not given up the possibility of improving cross-strait relations: “I will encourage him (Xi Jinping) to have more dialogues with the Taiwanese government and people. We have repeatedly expressed our desire to have dialogues with China to avoid misunderstandings when handling cross-strait relations. , Misjudgment and misleading the best way.”
Image source,Taiwan Defense Ministry
Beijing strongly responds
In response to Tsai Ing-wen’s media interview, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin criticized the United States and the Democratic Progressive Party government at a regular press conference on Wednesday. He said, “The DPP authorities’ solitary actions will not change the’iron fact’ that Taiwan is a part of China, nor will it shake the solid pattern of the international community’s universal recognition of the one-China principle.”
He also stated, “China firmly opposes any form of official exchanges and military ties between the US and the Taiwan region, and opposes interference by the US in China’s internal affairs. The US military has recently shown its muscles in the Taiwan Strait to provocatively disrupt the situation, sending serious wrong signals and threats to the Taiwan independence forces. Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
As many scholars have mentioned, Beijing is very dissatisfied with the US’s “salami slicing” approach to the Taiwan issue in recent years. After Biden took office, the US approach has not eased.
Associate Professor Shen Xuhui of Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan said that the so-called “slicing sausages” refers to things like “through the continuous creation of some actions and measures, ultimately in exchange for huge strategic results… In the past two decades, Beijing has continuously adopted different details. The means to gradually increase their international influence will be out of control when other countries discover it.”
Recently, the Biden administration has constantly touched Beijing’s sensitive nerves on the Taiwan issue, triggering many discussions. Earlier this year, the United States included peace and security across the Taiwan Strait as an issue in a joint statement at the G7 summit.
Image source,Office of the President, ROC (Taiwan)
When Biden was asked on a live broadcast in the United States last week (October 21) whether the United States “will inevitably protect Taiwan,” he responded: “Yes! This is our promised responsibility.”
Beginning this week, Rick Waters, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia and the Pacific of the US State Department, accused China of “misapplying” UN Resolution 2758. The next day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken publicly proposed that Taiwan should join the United Nations system. In all this, it is believed that the US is not only “cutting sausages”, but is more likely to abandon “strategic ambiguity” and turn to “strategic”. Clearly” handle cross-strait issues.
Su Ziyun told the BBC that this shows that the adjustment of the US Taiwan Strait policy has turned into “constructive clarity” and that “traditional strategies such as vague and clear strategies are no longer applicable to the current situation.”
However, as far as Beijing’s position is concerned, high-level White House officials have repeatedly spoken in Taiwan and have seriously offended Beijing. Jin Canrong, a professor at the School of International Relations of Renmin University of China, analyzed to the Chinese official media observer network that the United States’ claim that “supports Taiwan’s return to the United Nations system” is in addition to encouraging “Taiwan independence” elements. Further internationalization will turn it into a problem within the United Nations, which will further restrain us (China). These people’s motives should be like this, and whether it can be achieved is another matter.”
In addition, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian criticized the United States, saying that the US statement seriously violated the one-China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US Joint Communiqués, “violated its own commitments, violated the basic norms of international relations, and sent a serious wrong signal to the “Taiwan independence” forces. .”