45 years after the United States withdrew its forces from Taiwan following the normalization of diplomatic relations with China, it is now revealed that the ‘Green Beret’ forces are permanently stationed on islands in the Taiwan Strait near the Chinese border.
Taiwanese Defense Chief Chiu Kuo-cheng officially confirmed it when asked about the presence of the US Army Special Forces.
This revelation has the potential to escalate tensions with China.
Read: What would a “Soft Invasion” of Taiwan look like?
Daily Express US reported:
“[The admission] comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week issued an ‘ironclad’ warning to China as tensions between the two nations rise.”
Former President Tsai Ing-wen had already mentioned in passing three years ago ‘occasional training sessions with US instructors’, but Chiu’s recent statement is the first official confirmation of the permanent nature of these activities.
“According to reports from Taiwan’s United Daily News (UDN), US Army Green Berets from the 1st Special Forces Group are now permanently stationed at bases of the 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion, a Taiwanese army special operations force, located in outlying island counties of Penghu and Kinmen. Notably, Kinmen lies just over a mile from Chinese shores.
Additionally, reports suggest an American military presence in the northeast city of Taoyuan on Taiwan’s main island, with service members providing specialized training on drone equipment for Taiwan’s elite Airborne Special Service Company.”
Newsweek reported:
“The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in 2023 paved the way for their arrival to conduct training programs for troops on Taiwan’s front line.”
The U.S. Army Green Berets from the 1st Special Forces Group were sent to the outlying island counties of Penghu and also Kinmen, just a mile away from Chinese territory.
“The 1st Battalion of this Pacific-oriented Special Forces Group is forward-deployed in Okinawa, Japan, while the rest of the battalion is stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
The U.S. has maintained no official military presence in Taiwan since it pulled out in 1979 following the normalization of U.S.-China relations.
Officially, U.S.-Taiwan military exchanges, which have been indirectly acknowledged in the past, are handled by the de facto U.S. embassy, the American Institute in Taiwan.
Though the U.S. switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, the U.S. remains Taiwan’s largest arms supplier.”
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