The United States will increase the number of its troops in Taiwan from 30 to 100-200 in the coming months. Additional troops will include special forces, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing sources in the US administration.
The US military will train local armed forces. In particular, the focus will be on intelligence gathering and special operations. The upcoming increase in the size of the US military will be the largest in decades.
At the same time, the newspaper notes, the Pentagon prefers not to publish information so as not to provoke China. This decision could further aggravate relations between Beijing and Washington, which have already been strained in recent years. In particular, the issues raised concerned trade, human rights and the South China Sea.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949. According to Beijing’s official position, the island is a province of China, which does not exclude the use of force to bring it back under control.
Previously, China imposed sanctions on the two largest US military-industrial corporations – Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. The reason was the massive arms supply to Taiwan. The two US arms giants are also major arms suppliers to Ukraine.
Photos used: flickr.com
