Politico | Lawmakers say they were in the dark on US troop deployment to Taiwan
- The comments follow a US media report that Marines and a special-ops unit have been ‘secretly’ training the island’s soldiers for a least a year
- The news comes amid increasingly aggressive actions by China, whose military flew near Taiwan for several days in a row over the past week
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Quint Forgey on politico.com on October 7, 2021.
Two lawmakers on US national security committees – one a House Democrat, the other a Senate Republican – said on Thursday they were unaware of a US troop deployment in Taiwan where forces are reportedly helping train the island nation’s military.
The acknowledgements from congressman Ami Bera and Senator Thom Tillis, made during POLITICO’s inaugural Defence Forum, came hours after The Wall Street Journal reported that a US special-operations unit and a contingent of Marines have been operating in Taiwan for at least a year.
Asked whether he was informed by Pentagon officials about the US troop presence, Bera said, “not particularly this deployment”.
00:00
Taiwan denounces mainland China for ‘over the top’ flights into island’s air defence zone
Bera – a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the chair of its Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Non-proliferation – added, however: “I think we have special operators and others there, and we have in the past, that are there training this military [and] working with them.”
Tillis, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said Pentagon officials “did not make us specifically aware” of the US troop deployment in Taiwan.
“I’ve been on Senate Armed Services for 6½ years, and I can’t recall a single briefing. Obviously, anything that was in a classified setting I couldn’t share. But in general terms, no specific briefing on this.” He then added that he would like to see even more troops deploy.
In a statement, Pentagon spokesman John Supple said, “I don’t have any comments on specific operations, engagements, or training, but I would like to highlight that our support for and defence relationship with Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China.”
Taiwan will work to ensure peace, Tsai says days after record PLA sorties
Separately, a defence official confirmed to POLITICO that American forces have been “advising” the Taiwanese military and are increasing their efforts there.
Despite the US troop deployment’s characterisation as clandestine in the Journal’s report on Thursday, its details have been public online on the Pentagon’s Defence Manpower Data Centre website.
Other news media over the past year also have reported on American forces in Taiwan. The Army‘s 1st Special Forces Group posted a video to social media last June featuring Green Berets training in Taiwan, and Taiwan’s Naval Command confirmed last November that Marines had begun conducting drills in the country.
The news comes amid increasingly aggressive actions by China, whose military flew near Taiwan for several days in a row over the past week.
Lara Seligman and Alexander Ward contributed to this report.
Read Politico’s story.
