U.S. government public data: 41 military personnel were stationed in Taiwan last year | Chinese Communist Party | U.S. military

[The Epoch Times, April 24, 2024](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Chen Ting) A research agency affiliated with the U.S. Congress submitted a report to the U.S. Congress on Taiwan’s defense issues. The report pointed out that according to public data from the Pentagon, there will be a total of 41 US military personnel stationed in Taiwan in 2023.

Recently, US$8.12 billion was provided to Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region in the foreign aid bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.

The day before the House of Representatives voted on the bill, the U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) released the “Taiwan Defense Issues for Congress (PDF)” (PDF) for members’ reference, covering Taiwan’s security situation. , U.S. defense support for Taiwan, U.S. strategies and policies, U.S.-Taiwan defense cooperation, weapons transfers, dialogue, training, U.S. military presence in Taiwan, security cooperation in other fields, and Taiwan’s regime change, etc.

The report pointed out that the United States’ Taiwan policy has always given top priority to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The report emphasizes that the CCP claims Taiwan as its territory and has never given up the use of force to annex Taiwan. “The United States supports Taiwan in deterring the PRC (Chinese Communist Party) from using force to control the Taiwan Islands. The U.S. government also seeks to strengthen its own capabilities to contain the PRC in the Indo-Pacific region.” military aggression”.

The report mentioned that both the previous and current Congresses hoped to support Taiwan’s defense through arms and arms transfers, including using the “Presidential Drawing Authority” (PDA) to give Taiwan $1.9 billion in equipment from the U.S. weapons arsenal, and Provide $2 billion in “Foreign Military Financing” (FMF) to Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific allies.

“A key issue for U.S. policymakers to consider is whether to support Taiwan’s self-defense in a possible cross-strait conflict, and if so, how to avoid triggering a conflict.”

The report was co-authored by CRS Asia affairs analyst Caitlin Campbell, Asia affairs researcher Susan Lawrence, and security cooperation and global arms trade analyst Christina Arabia.

The report said that although Taiwan has a professional and technically sophisticated military, it must face the asymmetric military power of the People’s Liberation Army of the Communist Party of China. Some observers believe that the People’s Liberation Army will soon have the capability to conduct military activities against Taiwan, including missile attacks, blockades, seizing outlying islands, and even amphibious landings.

The report also warned that Taiwan’s energy, food, water, Internet, submarine cables, infrastructure, etc. are all targets that may be destroyed in the conflict.

“Taiwan’s national defense reform has just begun. The military still faces difficulties in recruiting, maintaining, and training personnel. Some observers believe that Taiwan’s civil defense preparations are insufficient. At a social level, it is not clear how well the Taiwanese people will respond in the face of possible attacks by the PRC. What price are you willing to pay in terms of economic security, personal safety and lives during armed aggression?” the report said.

The report pointed out that over the past decades, U.S.-Taiwan defense cooperation has made significant contributions to deterring the CCP’s aggression.

Regarding the presence of US military personnel in Taiwan, the report stated that when the United States established diplomatic relations with Beijing on January 1, 1979, it stated that it would evacuate remaining military personnel in Taiwan within four months. Since then, the U.S. military has not had permanent military personnel stationed in Taiwan. However, observers pointed out that it is an “open secret” that a small number of US military personnel work in an advisory capacity in Taiwan.

In 2021, President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China (Taiwan) publicly stated that a small number of US military personnel were stationed in Taiwan to train the Taiwanese military, a move that aroused the anger of Beijing.

The report also mentioned that according to the quarterly report of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Manpower Data Center, as of December 2023, 41 U.S. military personnel have been sent to Taiwan to perform tasks.

However, the center noted that its report only includes unclassified personnel data and “does not include all personnel involved in temporary assignments or deployed in support of emergency operations.”

The Wall Street Journal reported in February 2023 that the United States would send 100 to 200 people to Taiwan in the next few months to assist in training the military. However, no U.S. and Taiwan officials have publicly confirmed the news. In February this year, Taiwanese media also reported that “green beret” advisors from the U.S. Army Special Forces were stationed in Taiwan, including assisting in training local special forces on the Kinmen Islands.

In March this year, Taiwan Defense Minister Qiu Guozheng stated in this regard that exchanges between the Taiwan military and friendly countries are mutual observation and learning, and are also within the scope of normal exchanges. At that time, a Pentagon spokesperson also stated that he would not comment on specific actions or training of the US military, but the United States Taiwan’s commitment is “rock-solid”, which contributes to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the region.

Editor in charge: Li Muen#