US to ramp up troop numbers in Taiwan: report

The United States will send between 100 and 200 troops to Taiwan over the next few months to help train the island’s military — the largest deployment of American forces there in decades as Washington tries to deter China from a potential attack.

The additional service members represent a major buildup from the roughly 30 US forces stationed on Taiwan at this time last year, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The training program, largely kept under wraps by the Pentagon, aims to provide Taipei with the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Beijing, the outlet said. 

The additional troops will train Taiwanese forces on military maneuvers and operating US-produced weapons systems.

Relations between the world’s two great economic powers have deteriorated over China’s launch of a spy balloon that was shot down off the South Carolina coast on Feb. 4 and Beijing’s moves to assist Russia militarily with its war of conquest against Ukraine. 

The US said the expansion of the training program had been planned for months, before the incident involving the spy balloon, and is intended to assist a regional partner prepare to repel a possible invasion. 

China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway territory and has openly said it aims to subsume the self-ruled country — by force if necessary — has been conducting extensive military exercises in the region for several months.

In 2021, the then-chief of the military’s Indo-Pacific Command chief, Navy Adm. Phil Davidson, told Congress that he expected China could invade Taiwan by 2027. The time frame to bolster Taipei against a potential attack has since been dubbed the “Davidson window” by military experts.

The number of US troops on the island has varied over the years and has included special-operation troops and US Marines, the Journal reported, citing Defense Department records.  

Separately, the Michigan National Guard is training some members of the Taiwanese military in the US, the report added. 

 A US official told the newspaper that precautions are being taken not to antagonize China, which has expressed concern about Washington’s increased interest in the defense of Taiwan. 

“One of the difficult things to determine is what really is objectionable to China,” ​the person said. 

“We don’t think at the levels that we’re engaged in and are likely to remain engaged in the near future that we are anywhere close to a tipping point for China, but that’s a question that is constantly being evaluated and looked at specifically with every decision involving support to Taiwan​.” ​

A Pentagon spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that he would not comment on “specific operations, engagements, or training” but emphasized the US support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese threats.

“Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region​,” Army Lt. Col. Marty Meiners​ ​said.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said this week that the country welcomes military assistance from the US. 

“Going forward,” she said. “Taiwan will cooperate even more actively with the United States and other democratic partners to confront such global challenges as authoritarian expansionism and climate change.”

With Post wires