U.S. looks to expand Taiwan military training

• The United States is set to expand the number of troops helping train Taiwanese forces, two U.S. officials said on Thursday, at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.
• Reuters reported in 2021 that a small number of U.S. special operations forces have been rotating into Taiwan on a temporary basis to train their forces.
• The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Pentagon was expected to increase that number in the coming months.
• One of the officials said the exact number of increased troops was unclear, but the move was unrelated to recent tensions over the shootdown of a Chinese spy balloon which flew across the United States.
• Speaking to reporters in Taipei on 24 Feb, Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said he “didn’t know” the source of the information about expanded training. He added Taiwan and the United States had a lot of military interaction and declined further comment.

External Link : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-looks-expand-taiwan-military-training-sources-2023-02-24/