Explained: How US and Taiwan are strengthening military ties amid rising China tensions

Taiwan and the United States are strengthening military ties. Just days after President Tsai Ing-wen vowed cooperation with the United States on military matters to curb “authoritarian expansionism”, there are reports that Taiwan will now send 500 troops to Washington and that the United States will send between 100 to 200 troops to Taipei. The move comes in the backdrop of spiralling tensions between Washington and Beijing over alleged spy balloons and amid visits to Taiwan from a Congress delegation as well as a top defence official. Washington diplomatically recognises Beijing over Taipei, but is also the self-governing island’s most important international benefactor and supports Taipei’s right to decide its future. Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to seize it one day, opposes any official exchanges with the democracy and has reacted with anger to a flurry of trips to the island by US politicians in recent years. Let’s take a closer look how US and Taiwan are strengthening military ties: Taiwan-US grow closer According to the South China Morning Post, Taiwan is gearing up to send more than 500 of its soldiers to the United States later this year. The newspaper quoted Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency as saying a joint combined arms battalion – with troops mainly from the army’s 333rd Mechanised Infantry Brigade and 542nd Armour Brigade – would head to the US in the latter half of 2023. “This marks the first time troops at battalion level, typically consisting of around 500 soldiers, will travel to the US for training – rather than platoon (25-60 troops) or company (80-150) level as in the past,” the report stated. These joint battalions, which combine liason officers of infantry, armoured forces, the navy, the air force and aArmy aviation with specialists and field officers, were first established in September 2019, according to Focus Taiwan.

As per SCMP, this was done so on the advice of the United States.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US is set to expand its footprint in Taiwan. According to the newspaper, while the US had just 30 troops in Taiwan a year ago, it is not set to up that number to between 100 and 200 troops. Fox News speaking to an unnamed US official, confirmed that report on Thursday. As per the outlet, the troops stationed in Taiwan previously were from the National Guard, the US Marines and Special Ops. [caption id=“attachment_12185492” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen has vowed closer military cooperation with the US. AFP[/caption] The Michigan National Guard is set to train a contingent of the Taiwanese Army during exercises on US soil. “We don’t have a comment on specific operations, engagements, or training, but I would highlight that our support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China,” Lt. Col. Marty Meiners, a Defence Department spokesperson, told Fox News. “Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region,” he added. Growing closer under Trump, Biden The US and Taiwan have been growing closer since the presidency of Donald Trump – something that has continued under President Biden. “Trump signed a number of bills that were friendly to Taiwan, including the Taiwan Travel Act which promotes all levels of exchanges,” a Taiwanese military source told SCMP. “The National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2018 specifically encourages exchanges of defence officials and military officers for the purposes of training and coordination, in addition to exchanges of senior military leaders.” The army, meanwhile, has refused to confirm or deny any reports, as per Focus Taiwan. What do experts say? That this could be a great opportunity for Taiwan’s troops. Chieh Chung, research fellow at the Association of Strategic Foresight, told Focus Taiwan the military faces difficulties with regard to training due to the island’s limited space and dense population Chieh said this is a chance for Taiwanese troops to study and absorb information from US soldiers that have witnessed combat. They can thus increase their own professionalism, Chieh said. Chieh added that such experiences will allow the Taiwan’s military to hone its tactics, combat skills and training methods enhance joint battalion combat capabilities and tactics. Though that doesn’t mean that the Biden administration has changed its outlook. “One of the difficult things to determine is what really is objectionable to China,” an official familiar with the plan told the WSJ. “We don’t think at the levels that we’re engaged in and are likely to remain engaged in the near future that we are anywhere close to a tipping point for China, but that’s a question that is constantly being evaluated and looked at specifically with every decision involving support to Taiwan." Lu Yeh-chung, assistant professor in National Chengchi University’s Department of Diplomacy, pointed out that the Biden administration is yet to change the US’ policy of strategic ambiguity towards Taiwan.

Lu, though added that “there are fewer and fewer areas of ambiguity”, as per Focus Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Tuesday accused Taiwanese leaders of “provocation”, warning that “any futile separatist conspiracy or scheme relying on foreign forces to undermine cross-strait relations will only backfire and never succeed”. Taiwan authorities “cannot change the inevitable broader trend towards Chinese unification”, Wang said at a regular press conference. In Taipei, Tsai said it was time “to explore even more opportunities for cooperation” between the United States and Taiwan. “Together we can continue to safeguard the values of democracy and freedom,” she said. Diplomacy, defence and semiconductors Relations between Beijing and Washington have grown increasingly tense, and China responded angrily to a Financial Times report about a weekend visit by Michael Chase, the deputy assistant US secretary of defense for China. The British newspaper said Chase was the most senior Pentagon official to visit the island since 2019. In Taipei, California representative Ro Khanna, a member of a newly created US House committee on strategic competition with China’s Communist Party, said he was leading the bi-partisan delegation’s visit to expand “the partnership on military and defence” and to shore up ties with the island’s world-leading semiconductor industry. “We are here to affirm the shared values between the United States and Taiwan, a commitment to democracy, a commitment to freedom,” he said on Tuesday. Khanna added that he “particularly appreciated” a meeting with Morris Chang, founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is the world’s largest contract chipmaker. The global semiconductor industry has been upended by an ongoing economic slowdown dampening demand as well as by a raft of US export controls aimed at preventing China from obtaining advanced chips. Cross-strait exchanges Relations between the world’s two largest economies dipped to a low point in August as China staged war games near Taiwan following a visit by Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the US House of Representatives. Both sides recently signalled hopes for a reset, but at a weekend meeting with US chief diplomat Antony Blinken, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi accused Washington of harbouring a “misguided” perception of Beijing.

Blinken has previously warned that China may be stepping up its time frame for a possible invasion of Taiwan.

Recently, Beijing has taken steps to court Taiwan’s pro-China Opposition through cross-strait exchanges ahead of the island’s 2024 presidential race. Earlier this week, the first official Chinese delegation to visit the island since the pandemic met with the Opposition-led Taipei city government, just as Kuomintang party leaders returned from their own trip to the mainland. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .