[New Tang Dynasty News November 02, 2021, Beijing time]President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China publicly confirmed last week that the Chinese Communist Party jumped after the US military assisted in training the national army in Taiwan. According to a source from the Beijing military, Beijing has known about the existence of the US military in Taiwan in the past 40 years, but it will embarrass the Chinese authorities if this matter is explained.
In an exclusive interview with CNN on October 26, Tsai Ing-wen confirmed for the first time that the US military is assisting in training the national army in Taiwan, and said that Taiwan is a democratic “beacon” that must be defended.
Tsai Ing-wen said, “We are cooperating with the United States on a large scale, with the intention of increasing our national defense capabilities.”
Tsai Ing-wen also said that in the face of the recent frequent military activities of the Communist army, the reason why the people of Taiwan are doing business as usual is not that they are not indifferent to the increasing military activities. In fact, since World War II, the challenges and crises that Taiwanese have experienced have never been less. After overcoming the challenges again and again, the people of Taiwan are quite determined and believe that they will find their own way of survival and prosperity. “This is Taiwan’s resilience.”
In response, the CCP jumped to the ground and threatened that the United States would not send “wrong signals” to Taiwanese groups.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post quoted anonymous Beijing military sources as saying that Beijing knows that since 1980, the United States has been sending some military personnel to Taiwan as liaison officers for unofficial defense exchanges. After the 1980s, the United States retained about a dozen low-level military officers in Taiwan with the official title of’advisor’.
Sources said that this group of US military officers is like a liaison team responsible for defense operations between Washington and Taipei, such as assisting in training. This should be a strategic tacit understanding between Washington and Beijing.
The source pointed out that Beijing also knows that another group of US Marines are stationed in Taiwan and are responsible for maintaining the security of the US Institute in Taiwan (AIT), but they did not appear as current US military officers.
The source also said that although these US troops “existed” in the past, they were not disclosed to the public, and Beijing hardly made any protests. After President Tsai Ing-wen publicly confirmed last week that the US military was assisting in training the national army in Taiwan, the tacit understanding between China and the United States for more than 40 years was broken. “This move further complicates the relations between the United States and China, the two sides of the strait, and between the United States and Taiwan.”
Lin Zhongbin, the former deputy defense secretary of Taiwan, said that the US Marine Corps’ defense of AIT and their military contacts with Taiwanese officers have been an open secret for decades.
“It’s not a big deal. Sometimes the United States will send military personnel to help train the Taiwan army. This may be part of their after-sales service, or sometimes it is just pure training assistance. Everyone agrees that American officers will not wear uniforms in Taiwan.”
Drew Thompson, a former U.S. Department of Defense official, stated that U.S. arms sales include training and support, not just hardware. “Recent media disclosures do not indicate any changes in the status quo. The only new development on this issue. It is Beijing’s politically motivated anger.”
According to the “Taiwan Relations Act,” the United States promised to provide Taiwan with security and self-defense support, including the sale of weapons to Taipei in spite of Beijing’s opposition.
According to reports, the Taipei Office of the American Association in Taiwan (AIT) confirmed through a spokesperson in 2019 that since 2005, the office has been stationed with active-duty American soldiers covering the armed forces, navy, air, and marines. The Marine Corps has always been responsible for the security of US embassies around the world.
In addition, a document regularly updated by the Pentagon shows that as of June 30 this year, 23 Marines, 2 Navy, and 5 Air Forces were “normally” stationed in Taiwan. More military personnel are visiting Taiwan for short periods of time.
A source told The Economist in 2018 that 3,500 to 4,000 Pentagon officials visit Taiwan each year.
(Reported by reporter Liu Minghuan/Editor in charge: Wenhui)
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