U.S. Army Special Forces personnel are training Taiwanese troops on the islands of Kinmen and Penghu, Taiwan’s defense minister confirmed last Thursday.
In a recent strategic development from the Taiwan Strait, U.S. forces are now stationed on the frontline Taiwanese islands of Kinmen and Penghu, according to Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng.
Before presenting a report on Chinese military activities March 14 at the Taiwanese legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, Mr. Chiu interacted with the press and confirmed that U.S. Army Green Berets are permanently stationed at the Taiwanese army’s amphibious command centers in Kinmen and Penghu, Taiwanese national news CNA reported last Thursday.
Experts termed the Special Forces’ presence an expansion of the military cooperation between traditional allies—the United States and Taiwan—and said the development shows that U.S. forces are present at Taiwan’s frontline on a more or less constant basis, with the United States finally doing what’s needed to break Taiwan from strategic isolation.
“The media reported that the U.S. Army [Special Forces] has appeared on the outlying islands, indicating that the scope of military cooperation between Taiwan and the United States has gradually expanded from sea and air cooperation to offshore islands ground operations,” Ming-Shih Shen, Director of National Security Research at Taipei’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told The Epoch Times in an email.
Kinmen is just over a mile away from China at its narrowest point, while the Penghu archipelago is about 30 miles west of Taiwan. Both these outlaying islands form an important stretch of Taiwan’s frontline with China.
Satoru Nagao, a non-resident fellow at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, told The Epoch Times that the constant presence of U.S. forces on Taiwan’s frontline islands will make it more difficult for China to attack these islands.
“[The] recent situation indicates that China is trying to attack Kinmen Island. In recent years China has also modernized its military forces at a rapid pace and the military balance has changed. Therefore there is a real possibility that China will attack Taiwan by using military forces if they can win,” said Mr. Nagao.
