The U.S. military is reportedly increasing its troop presence in Taiwan for an expanding training program.
The Defense Department plans to deploy between 100 and 200 troops to Taiwan in the next couple months, a move that could ultimately quadruple its presence of about 30 last year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. This deployment could become the largest number of U.S. forces in Taiwan in decades.
US HAS 'GROWING CONCERN' OVER CHINA'S RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA
“We don't have a comment on specific operations, engagements, or training, but I would highlight that our support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China,” Lt. Col. Martin Meiners, a Pentagon spokesman, told the Washington Examiner. “Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.”
There will be a training program between U.S. forces and Taiwanese troops in Michigan with the state's national guard, per the Wall Street Journal. The planning for this expansion is months in the making, predating the Chinese spy balloon that flew over the continental United States in late January and early February before the military shot it down off the coast of South Carolina.
The U.S. has approved $19 billion of military equipment for Taiwan’s defense which is currently backlogged.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
China’s People’s Liberation Army is undergoing significant modernization and growth, which is coinciding with increasingly aggressive maneuvers toward Taiwan. U.S. officials have said Beijing is trying to rewrite the status quo, though the Pentagon's current assessment is that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is not imminent.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, at a press conference on Jan. 11, described China's behavior as "very provocative" and said it was China's "attempt to re-establish a new normal. So we've seen increased activity in — aerial activity in the straits. We've seen increased surface vessel activity around Taiwan. And again, we believe that they endeavor to establish a new normal, but whether or not that means that an invasion is imminent, I seriously doubt that."