Taiwanese President Confirms U.S. Forces In Taiwan, Warns Threat From China Is ‘Increasing Every Day’

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen confirmed to CNN during an interview on Wednesday that U.S. troops were on the ground in Taiwan helping the island prepare for a possible military invasion from communist China, warning that the threat from China is “increasing every day.”

Ing-wen said that relations between China and Taiwan have dramatically soured over the last several years because China’s vision for the region is now “very different” than it was in the past.

Ing-wen told CNN that the U.S. troops in Taiwan were there to increase the islands’ “defense capability.” She later added that she has faith that the U.S. would defend Taiwan if China took military action because of “the long-term relationship that we have with the U.S. and also the support the people of the U.S., as well as the Congress, and the administration has been very helpful.”

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is Taiwan more safe today than it was when you became president in 2016?

TSAI ING-WEN, TAIWAN’S PRESIDENT: If it’s a threat from China, it’s increasing every day.

RIPLEY: The Mainland’s massive military, 2 million strong more powerful than ever. China flew 150 war planes near Taiwan in just five days this month. This democracy of more than 23 million governs separately from the mainland for more than 70 years since the end of China’s Civil War, stillseen as a breakaway province in the eyes of Beijing’s communist rulers who have never controlled the island. China has pressured most of the world to sever formal diplomatic ties with Taipei. Chinese President Xi Jinping says reunification is only a matter of time. Are you interested in speaking with President Xi? Would you like to have more communication with him?

ING-WEN: Well, more communication would be helpful so that we would reduce misunderstanding given our differences, differences in terms of our political systems. We can sit down and talk about our differences and try to make arrangement so that we’ll be able to coexist peacefully.

RIPLEY: Your predecessor, as you know, did meet with President Xi. Why do you think that things — the communication has really gone south since 2016?

ING-WEN: Well, I think the situation has changed a lot and China’s plan towards the region is very different.

RIPLEY: That plan includes war threats over Taiwan, clashes with Japan and the East China Sea and militarizing manmade islands in the South China Sea, posing a direct challenge to seven decades of U.S. military

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