Taiwan: President Tsai Ing-wen confirms that the US military is training its forces on the island | China | Globalism

President TaiwanTsai Ing-wen confirmed for the first time that United State It has a military presence on the island for “training Taiwanese forces”, which confirms recently published information in this regard.

In an interview with CNN, Tsai He noted that there is a “wide range of cooperation” with the United States to “increase defensive capability.” TaiwanHowever, he avoided specifying a specific number of US forces on the island, saying only that they were “less than believed”.

Look: Taiwan’s president said she “believes” the US will defend the island if China invades

At the beginning of the month, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources, that a detachment of about two dozen Special Forces and Marines had been on the island for at least a year to train Taiwanese on the ground and the navy.

Last week, US President Joe Biden declared that “the United States has an obligation” to defend Taiwan militarily in the event that China decides to attack the island, something that is neither confirmed nor ruled out in the Relations Act. . from Taiwan as a result of the “status quo” that developed in 1979 between China and the United States.

In his interview with CNN yesterday, Tsai He stated that “due to the long relationship” between Taiwan And United StateHe has “belief that the United States will defend” the island in the event of an attack by China.

Tsai He stressed that the threat from Beijing is “increasing every day,” statements that come a few weeks after the record incursion of Chinese aircraft into the Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which caused relations between Taipei and Beijing to cross “their worst moment in four decades,” According to the Minister of Defense of the island.

The President also confirmed that she is ready, in the hope of “peaceful coexistence”, to hold a virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, given that “more contacts will help reduce misunderstandings” between the two parties.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken encouraged all UN member states to join Washington “in supporting Taiwan’s strong and meaningful engagement throughout the UN system and the international community” and described the island as a “democratic success story”, a “partner” and a trusted friend. to the United States.

Beijing, through Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, yesterday described Blinken’s call as “the greatest threat to peace and stability in the (Formosa) Strait.”

The United States does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but it does maintain informal relations with the island, which provides it with defense resources.

Beijing, for its part, insists on the “reunification” of the People’s Republic with the island, which has ruled independently since the Kuomintang (KMT) nationalists withdrew there in 1949 after losing the civil war against the communists and continuing with the Republic of China regime, reaching its climax. On the transition to democracy in the 1990s.

Recently, Xi Jinping, unlike other occasions when he did not rule out the use of force, insisted on “peaceful reunification”, although he also emphasized that those who “betray the motherland and seek to divide the country will be despised by the people. History condemns them.” “.

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