A total of 41 US military personnel were stationed in Taiwan as of December last year, a US congressional report said on Friday last week ahead of Tuesday’s passage of an aid package that included US$8 billion for Taiwan.
The Congressional Research Service in a report titled Taiwan Defense Issues for Congress said that according to the US Department of Defense’s Defense Manpower Data Center, 41 US military personnel were assigned for duty in Taiwan.
Although the normalization of relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1979 included a vow to withdraw a military presence from Taiwan, “observers have indicated that it is an ‘open secret’ that small numbers of US military personnel conduct work in an advisory capacity” in Taiwan, it said.
Photo: CNA
US defense officials have said they “do not have a comment on specific operations, engagements or training” related to engagements with Taiwan, the report said.
The Wall Street Journal in February last year reported that the US was to send 100 to 200 military training personnel to Taiwan “in the coming months,” which was not confirmed by officials on either side.
In February, US military news Web site SOFREP reported that US Green Berets were permanently stationed in Kinmen County to train Taiwanese forces, which US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John Aquilino denied.
SOFREP also highlighted challenges within Taiwan in relation to its defense, saying that there is an apparent lack of trust between elected leaders and the military, which has traditionally been aligned with the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
It also said that there was vulnerability in the nation’s energy, food, water and Internet supply, and it struggles to recruit, train and retain personnel.
“At a societal level, it is not clear what costs — in terms of economic security, physical safety and security, and lives — Taiwan’s people would be willing or able to bear in the face of possible PRC armed aggression,” SOFREP said.
The US and Taiwan “appear to be quietly expanding training activities,” while outlining recent and pending arms transfers to Taiwan, it added.
In other news, progress on stationing a US munitions stockpile in Taiwan is unclear, but there is an “approximate plan” in place, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday in response to questions about whether Washington is moving forward with plans to move its East Asia stockpile to Taiwan.
Chiu was responding to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) about progress regarding the alleged stockpile.
On March 6 last year, Chiu told lawmakers that Taipei was “in talks” with the US military on moving its East Asia stockpile to Taiwan.
Chiu yesterday told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee that the issue must be approached with caution, as it involves sensitive political considerations.
There are many ways to define a “stockpile,” he said, adding that the nature of armaments and weaponry is vastly different.
If it were a maintenance center, there would naturally be spare parts and equipment sent in, he said, adding that everything is still in the proposal stage and is open to discussion.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS