Report: 200 US Military Trainers are Now in Taiwan

The Pentagon declined to comment on the report but affirmed its support for the island

The US has sent over 200 troops to Taiwan, significantly increasing the US military presence on the island, Taiwan News reported on Monday.

The report cited sources who spoke with Up Media and said US Indo-Pacific Command deployed more than 200 personnel to Taiwan to assist the island’s armed forces with training.

The Taiwanese news agency CNA also reported about 200 US military advisors are now stationed across Taiwan. When asked to confirm the deployment, the Pentagon declined to comment but affirmed its support for Taipei.

“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,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Marty Meiners told Antiwar.com in an email.

“Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region,” Meiners added.

The Wall Street Journal first reported in February that the US planned to deploy between 100 and 200 troops to Taiwan. The US previously had only about 30 troops on the island.

Since Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979, the US still deployed a handful of military trainers to Taiwan. The small US military presence in Taiwan was always an open secret but was never officially confirmed until 2021 when President Tsai Ing-wen became the first Taiwanese leader to acknowledge US troops were on the island since 1979.

The increase in US troops in Taiwan risks provoking a response from China, as Beijing has been strongly warning against growing US-Taiwan ties. China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently conducted major live-fire exercises around Taiwan in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in California.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.