- Taiwan defense minister Chiu Kuo-cheng appeared to admit US Special Forces are training the Taiwanese military for a potential conflict
- If correct, US troops would be stationed on coastal islands far closer to mainland China than to Taiwan in an escalation of America’s presence in the region
- Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly said he intends to ‘reunify’ Taiwan with China, while the US has vowed to support Taiwan in any potential invasion
Taiwan’s defense minister appeared to accidentally admit that US troops have been stationed off the coast of China, in what would be a startling escalation of hostilities in the region.
It is believed that if the defense chief, Chiu Kuo-cheng, was correct, the US military would be training Taiwanese forces on small islands close to mainland China, including Kinmen Island.
If US troops are stationed on Kinmen, it would mark a dramatic increase in America’s presence in the region. Kinmen Island is over 100 miles from Taiwan’s main island, but just three miles from China’s coastal city of Xiamen.
The apparent admission came after a report by Sofrep that claimed US Special Forces have already been deployed to the coastal islands – with it previously believed that limited troops were only deployed to Taiwan.
‘This exchange is for mutual observation, to identify the problems we have, figure out how to improve and to recognize their strengths so we can learn from them,’ Chiu said in response to a question on the report.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13220733/Taiwan-troops-stationed-islands-coast-China.html
www.news9live.com/world/32-chinese-warplanes-detected-around-taiwan-taipei-2472997