{"id":934027,"date":"2021-10-28T18:29:08","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T22:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=934027"},"modified":"2021-10-28T18:29:12","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T22:29:12","slug":"president-tsai-ing-wen-u-s-has-troops-stationed-in-taiwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-tsai-ing-wen-u-s-has-troops-stationed-in-taiwan\/","title":{"rendered":"President Tsai Ing-wen: U.S. Has Troops Stationed in Taiwan"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpresident-tsai-ing-wen-u-s-has-troops-stationed-in-taiwan%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=934027&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\"><span>Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday offered the first official confirmation a small contingent of American troops is stationed in Taiwan and helping to train its soldiers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>She also expressed faith that the United States would help defend Taiwan if China attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Several unnamed officials <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2021\/10\/07\/u-s-special-operators-taiwanese-forces\/\"><span>told<\/span><\/a><span> the <\/span><i><span>Wall Street Journal <\/span><\/i><span>(WSJ) in early October that America had stationed a contingent of about two dozen U.S. special operators on a quiet training mission. One of these officials described the deployment as \u201ca small but symbolic effort by the U.S. to increase Taipei\u2019s confidence in building its defenses against potential Chinese aggression.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Chinese government <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/news\/china-calls-on-u-s-to-withdraw-troops-from-taiwan\/\"><span>demanded<\/span><\/a><span> the U.S. withdraw even this small number of troops from Taiwan, describing their mission as a challenge to the \u201cOne China\u201d principle that functions as \u201cthe political foundation of China and U.S. relations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The \u201cOne China\u201d principle states that Taiwan is a province of China. In reality, Taiwan is a sovereign nation that has never been governed by Beijing in its history and operates an entirely separate state apparatus from the Communist Party regime.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>After refusing to comment for the record on the <\/span><i><span>WSJ <\/span><\/i><span>report for several weeks, Tsai on Tuesday became the first Taiwanese leader in four decades to confirm there are American soldiers in Taiwan, although she added there are \u201cnot as many as people thought.\u201d It was not clear if she meant even the estimate of two dozen published by the <\/span><i><span>WSJ <\/span><\/i><span>was too high.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe have a wide range of cooperation with the U.S. aiming at increasing our defense capability,\u201d she said during an interview with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/10\/27\/asia\/tsai-ingwen-taiwan-china-interview-intl-hnk\/index.html\"><span>CNN<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Tsai did not elaborate on the mission of the American military trainers, although she explained that Taiwan is in the process of adjusting its defense strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10318353\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"42\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/tsai-wen-ing-hawaii-american-flag-ap-photo.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10318353\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/tsai-wen-ing-hawaii-american-flag-ap-photo.png\" alt=\"In this Wednesday, March 27, 2019, photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, right, is greeted by supporters upon arriving in Hawaii. Speaking during the visit to Hawaii on Wednesday, Tsai said requests have been submitted to the U.S. for F-16V fighters and M1 Abrams tanks. If approved, the move could set off new tensions between the U.S. and China, which considers Taiwan its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>In this Wednesday, March 27, 2019, photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, right, is greeted by supporters upon arriving in Hawaii. Speaking during the visit to Hawaii on Wednesday, Tsai said requests have been submitted to the U.S. for F-16V fighters and M1 Abrams tanks. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cWe have a system that is inherited from China, which is a very different country,\u201d she said. \u201cThe way you defend a big piece of land is different from the way you protect a small island, so we have to change the traditional thinking about how a military should be structured.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>There have been several reports over the past few years that Taiwan\u2019s military needs retraining and restructuring.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/11\/04\/world\/asia\/china-taiwan-military.html\"><i><span>New York Times<\/span><\/i><\/a> <span>quoted analysts in 2017 who said Taiwan\u2019s \u201conce formidable\u201d military had been \u201covershadowed\u201d by China\u2019s growing and modernized armed forces.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cEven as the military refits itself with flashy U.S. arms purchases, such as M1 Abrams tanks and F-16V fighter jets, its front line units are hollowed out, and the entire reserve system is so dysfunctional that few experts or serving military personnel believe it can make a real contribution in the event of war,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/02\/15\/china-threat-invasion-conscription-taiwans-military-is-a-hollow-shell\/\"><i><span>Foreign Policy<\/span><\/i><\/a> <span>warned in February 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On Tuesday, the <\/span><i><span>WSJ <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/taiwan-military-readiness-china-threat-us-defense-11635174187\"><span>reported<\/span><\/a><span> that \u201cpoor preparation and low morale are pressing concerns\u201d for the Taiwanese military, and its problems have grown so dire that few strategists believe \u201cTaiwan\u2019s military could hold the line\u201d against a Chinese attack. Taiwanese officers refer to many of their pampered recruits as \u201cstrawberry soldiers\u201d because they \u201cbruise easily.\u201d A young Taiwanese man told the <\/span><i><span>WSJ <\/span><\/i><span>how he avoided conscription by scarfing down hamburgers to put on weight.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>China, on the other hand, spent the past few years creating a mythology of its soldiers as hard-bitten, stone-cold \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2018\/02\/16\/chinas-pla-finances-blockbuster-movie-heroic-chinese-marines-yemen\/\"><span>wolf warriors<\/span><\/a><span>.\u201d A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2021\/10\/19\/chinese-film-about-defeating-america-korean-war-tops-global-box-office\/\"><span>major theme<\/span><\/a><span> in current Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda is that Chinese troops are far tougher, more determined, and more unified than the soft, confused, demoralized Western (and Westernized) forces they might face in battle.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>The real-world performance of China\u2019s wolf warriors lags behind their mythology. Beijing has been reluctant to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2020\/06\/22\/report-china-admits-to-first-casualties-in-border-clash-with-india\/\">admit<\/a> how many of them were killed and injured in a hand-to-hand skirmish with Indian forces in the Himalayas in the summer of 2020. Indian officials insist their troops won that strange battle \u2013 fought with rocks, sticks, and spiked clubs because both sides wanted to avoid escalating to gunfire \u2013 and say the Chinese lost at least twice as many troops as the 20 Indian soldiers who were killed.<\/p>\n<p><span>Tsai <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/taiwan-leader-says-i-do-have-faith-us-will-defend-island\/6288704.html\"><span>told<\/span><\/a><span> CNN she has \u201cfaith\u201d the United States will help defend Taiwan against Chinese aggression, thanks to efforts like the U.S. special forces training mission, but she hopes China and Taiwan can \u201cco-exist peacefully\u201d despite recent tensions. She encouraged Chinese dictator Xi Jinping to \u201chave more dialogue with the government and people here in Taiwan\u201d to reduce those tensions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If push comes to shove, Tsai argued that Taiwan is an outpost of democracy the free world should be prepared to defend. Much of her interview seemed to focus on correcting any miscalculations Beijing might be making about how quickly and easily it could capture Taiwan, without facing any severe repercussions from the rest of the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17571386\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"37\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1209534260.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17571386\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1209534260.png\" alt=\"Soldiers wearing face masks amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic stand in formation in front of a US-made M110A2 self-propelled howitzer during Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen&#039;s visit to a military base in Tainan, southern Taiwan, on April 9, 2020. - Taiwan currently has just 375 confirmed Covid-19 patients and five deaths despite its close proximity and trade links with China where the pandemic began, but the island and its 23 million inhabitants remain locked out of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international bodies after Beijing ramped up its campaign to diplomatically isolate Taiwan and pressure it economically and militarily. (Photo by Sam Yeh \/ AFP) (Photo by SAM YEH\/AFP via Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Soldiers wearing face masks amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic stand in formation in front of a US-made M110A2 self-propelled howitzer during Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen\u2019s visit to a military base in Tainan, southern Taiwan, on April 9, 2020. (SAM YEH\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cTaiwan is not alone because we are a democracy, we respect freedom and we are peace lovers. And we share values with most of the countries in the region and geographically we are of strategic importance,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Tsai said the Taiwanese are prepared to defend themselves, but it remains \u201cimportant that we have the support of our friends, and also like-minded countries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Chinese government responded angrily to Tsai\u2019s interview.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe firmly oppose official and military ties in any form between the US and the Taiwan region, and oppose the US\u2019 interference in China\u2019s internal affairs,\u201d Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fmprc.gov.cn\/mfa_eng\/xwfw_665399\/s2510_665401\/2511_665403\/t1917497.shtml\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe U.S. vessels have repeatedly flexed its muscles to make provocations and stir up troubles in the Taiwan Strait in recent times, sending gravely wrong signals to the \u2018Taiwan independence\u2019 forces and threatening cross-Strait peace and stability,\u201d Wang charged. He was referring to U.S. Navy freedom-of-navigation <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/east-asia-pacific_china-protests-us-navy-coast-guard-ships-taiwan-strait\/6210079.html\"><span>passages<\/span><\/a><span> through the strait, which are invariably condemned by China as provocative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Wang insisted \u201creunification\u201d of China and Taiwan is the \u201cright course,\u201d while \u201cindependence\u201d is \u201cretrogression leading to a dead end.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cNo country and no one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Otherwise, they will suffer another defeat,\u201d he growled. The latter remark might have either been a snide comment about President Joe Biden\u2019s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, or a reference to China\u2019s current <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/entertainment\/2021\/10\/26\/china-dune-cannot-compete-communist-propaganda-movies\/\"><span>propaganda drive<\/span><\/a><span> to celebrate defeating American forces in the Korean War.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14849512\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"35\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Taiwan-Harpoon-Missile.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14849512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Taiwan-Harpoon-Missile.jpg\" alt=\"HUALIEN, TAIWAN: A ground crew of Taiwan&#039;s air force prepares to load a Sparrow air-to-air missile onto an F-16 fighter deployed in the eastern Hualien airbase, 17 August 2004. The air force confirmed it had carried out its first test firing of US-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles in a display of the island&#039;s ability to ward off a Chinese invasion. AFP PHOTO\/ PATRICK LIN (Photo credit should read PATRICK LIN\/AFP via Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>A ground crew of Taiwan\u2019s air force prepares to load a Sparrow air-to-air missile onto an F-16 fighter deployed in the eastern Hualien airbase. The air force confirmed it had carried out its first test firing of U.S.-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles in a display of the island\u2019s ability to ward off a Chinese invasion. (PATRICK LIN\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Chinese state media erupted in fury after Tsai\u2019s CNN interview, with <a href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-10-28\/Tsai-s-shameless-opportunism-will-be-brought-to-an-end-14J5rO3yd6U\/index.html\">CGTN<\/a> darkly warning on Thursday that Tsai\u2019s \u201cshameless opportunism will be brought to an end.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>CGTN accused Tsai and other \u201cseparatists\u201d of unleashing a \u201ctidal wave of provocations\u201d against China, which is running out of patience with their antics. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The editorial warned Tsai that her \u201cfaith\u201d in protection from America is dangerously misplaced, because \u201cthe U.S. is adept at weaponizing partners in regional conflicts, only to abandon them later on countless occasions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt is time for Taiwan to accept its destiny and rejoice in the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It is not a question of \u2018if.\u2019 It is a question of \u2018when\u2019 and \u2018how,&#8217;\u201d the CGTN tirade concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday offered the first official confirmation a small contingent of American troops is stationed in Taiwan and helping to train its soldiers. She also &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-934027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=934027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}