American troops are training in Taiwan, President Tsai confirms

As tensions escalate between US and China, Taiwan’s president has faith America will come to its defence if China attacks.

Members of Taiwan's chemical corps stand in formation during a an inspection by Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. Picture: Sam Yeh/AFP

President Tsai of Taiwan has confirmed that American troops are on the island to train its military, saying she has faith that the US will come to its defence if China attacks.

The disclosure, weeks after unconfirmed reports in the American press, comes amid escalating tensions between the US and China. US policy of “strategic ambiguity” about Taiwan’s defence has come under unprecedented strain from aggressive Chinese military actions.

American troops have been visiting the island for years but Tsai’s comments on Thursday were the first public confirmation of their presence by a Taiwanese leader since the last American garrison withdrew in 1979.

China regards self-ruled Taiwan as a renegade province and sees any presence of US soldiers on the island as an act of aggression. President Xi has vowed to one day seize the island, using force if necessary.

Tsai said the number of American soldiers on the island was “not as many as people thought” but that they were only one element of its military links with the US. “We have a wide range of co-operation with the US aiming at increasing our defence capability,” she told CNN. Taiwan was on the “front lines” in the fight for democracy, she added, with the threat from China growing every day.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen says the threat from China grows by the day. Picture: Sam Yeh / AFP

The comments drew a stern rebuke from Beijing, which said that it firmly opposed any official or military contacts between Taipei and Washington, which it accused of trying to “stir up trouble”. The foreign ministry said the presence of US troops sent the wrong signal and called the path to Taiwan independence a “dead end”.

A spokesman said: “No country, no one shall underestimate the resolute determination, the firm will and the strong abilities by the Chinese people to safeguard their state sovereignty and territorial integrity, or they will be met with defeat.”

The state-run Global Times went further, saying Tsai was “asking for her doom” and that Taiwan’s forces “will be met with a demise, not us”.

The decision by Taiwan to confirm the US presence follows some of China’s most aggressive military incursions into the island’s air defence zone for decades. In the first five days of this month China sent a record 150 sorties into the zone, in an apparent test of the West’s mettle.

The White House played down remarks by President Biden last week that the US was committed to defending Taiwan in the event of an attack; an apparent departure from the long-stated policy of strategic ambiguity. On Wednesday Biden used a regional summit to rebuke China over its “coercive and proactive” actions in the Taiwan Strait, saying that they threatened regional peace and stability. He did not, however, revisit the issue of direct intervention in Taiwan’s defence.

China is finding itself increasingly isolated over Taiwan, despite ensuring for decades that most countries observe its One China policy. There is also growing disquiet abroad about the persecution of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province.

Tsai’s government has become increasingly bold in its efforts at international outreach. Next week Joseph Wu, the foreign minister, will make his first official visit to Brussels, an event which marks an unprecedented show of solidarity from the EU. One subject up for discussion will be Taiwanese investment in the semi-conductor industry in Europe, which is stretched by a global shortage.

The White House played down remarks by President Biden last week that the US was committed to defending Taiwan in the event of an attack; an apparent departure from the long-stated policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’. Picture: Nicholas Kamm/AFP

A delegation of MEPs will pay a return trip to Taipei next week, risking further friction with China, which has imposed s sanctions on politicians who raise the abuses in Xinjiang. The sanctions led to a Chinese-EU investment deal being put on ice.

China’s Mission to the EU tweeted that if the trip went ahead it “would seriously violate the EU’s commitment to the One China policy, damage China’s core interest and undermine the healthy development of China-EU relations”.

It added: “We will make further reactions in accordance with the development of the situation” — hinting at sanctions against the visiting MEPs.

The Times