Beijing expected to take countermeasures after reports US troops are training Taiwanese military
- Analysts say the PLA could step up combat preparations while others say Washington is willing to ‘play the Taiwan card’
- The Chinese foreign ministry says the move goes against Washington’s previous commitments
Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said the move went against Washington’s commitments to Beijing when the two sides established formal diplomatic relations on the basis of the one-China principle.
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Zhao said the United States had promised to sever formal diplomatic ties with Taipei, end a defence agreement and withdraw its troops from the island.
He added that China would take all necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Journal reported that a contingent of around 20 special operations and conventional forces had been conducting the training for more than a year on rotation. An unnamed US official later told Agence France-Presse that the report was broadly correct but the troops had been there for less than a year.
Last year the US and Taiwan denied Taiwanese media reports that US troops were training marines and special forces, and also declined to confirm the latest reports.
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Pentagon spokesman John Supple said in a statement that Beijing had stepped up its efforts to intimidate and pressure Taiwan, “which we believe are destabilising and increase the risk of miscalculation”.
Taiwanese deputy defence minister Po Horng-huei said on Friday that the ministry would not comment on international cooperation and military exchanges, based on the usual practice.
Mainland observers said the presence of US military forces in Taiwan would infuriate Beijing and trigger strong countermeasures.
“The disclosure of the news will definitely arouse the Chinese government’s higher level of vigilance [towards the US],” Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University, said. “The move is very serious in nature and will become one of the factors triggering China to take tough action.”
Zhu Songling, a professor at the Institute of Taiwan Studies at Beijing Union University, said Washington was trying to bargain with Beijing by playing the Taiwan card, ahead of a possible virtual meeting between two countries’ leaders later this year.
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“The disclose of the training by US media is to show the close military links between the US and Taiwan, which will be used by the US side to bargain with Beijing during the coming leaders’ summit,” Zhu said.
Song Zhongping, a former People’s Liberation Army trainer, said the PLA must urgently prepare for combat to prevent foreign forces from interfering in the event of conflict.
“The US military has been secretly training the Taiwan military, the involvement of special operations forces this time is to strengthen the Taiwan military’s ability to counterattack, a move seriously damaging cross-strait relations,” Song said.
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“What we need to do now is to prepare for a full-scale military struggle, especially considering that if there is a war in the Taiwan Strait, the PLA must resolve the Taiwan issue as quickly as possible and prevent foreign forces from interfering in the cause of China‘s reunification. The PLA needs to do all the preparations in this regard, which is a top priority.”
