Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen has confirmed that U.S. military personnel are currently on the democratic island as part of “military exchanges,” as she said the country’s 23 million residents wouldn’t “bow to pressure” in the face of the growing military threat from China. Speaking in an interview with CNN, Tsai was asked how many U.S. military personnel were in Taiwan, before responding: “Not as many as you’d think ... We have a wide range of cooperation with the U.S. aiming at increasing our defense capability,” she said.
The last U.S. garrison left Taiwan in 1979, when Washington switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing, and Tsai’s comments are the first official acknowledgement from a Taiwanese leader of U.S. military ties beyond the sale of arms mandated under the Taiwan Relations Act.
Tsai also said she had “faith” that the United States would step in to help defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, and that her government is taking steps to boost its military capabilities and improve its defense capabilities.
