"We have troops on Taiwan" Topic

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Original story is WSJ but you need a sub to read it. Redstate quotes extensively from the WSJ piece.

A U.S. special-operations unit and a contingent of Marines have been secretly operating in Taiwan to train military forces there, U.S. officials said, part of efforts to shore up the island's defenses as concern regarding potential Chinese aggression mounts.

About two dozen members of U.S. special-operations and support troops are conducting training for small units of Taiwan's ground forces, the officials said. The U.S. Marines are working with local maritime forces on small-boat training. The American forces have been operating in Taiwan for at least a year, the officials said.

Doc: doesn't look like a tripwire? Why small boating training to deter or repulse a ChiCom amphibious landing?

More from WSJ quote: The Trump administration loosened rules that restricted contacts with Taiwan by U.S. officials, in a move that was applauded at the time by Taiwan officials. The restrictions limited U.S.-Taiwan exchanges to avoid provoking China.

The Biden administration has continued with some of its predecessor's moves, sending a U.S. delegation to Taipei in April.

Before leaving office, the Trump administration declassified the U.S. Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific, a 10-page document broadly outlining objectives for the region.

The US Army part sounds like a few A teams of Green Berets. THAT makes some sense in the context of an invasion.

Okay, somehow I got by their sub firewall: this is interesting:
The special-operations unit and the Marine contingent are a small but symbolic effort by the U.S. to increase Taipei's confidence in building its defenses against potential Chinese aggression. Current and former U.S. government officials and military experts believe that deepening ties between U.S. and Taiwan military units is better than simply selling Taiwan military equipment.

The U.S. has sold Taiwan billions of dollars of military hardware in recent years, but current and former officials believe Taiwan must begin to invest in its defense more heavily, and smartly.

"Taiwan badly neglected its national defense for the first 15 years or so of this century, buying too much expensive equipment that will get destroyed in the first hours of a conflict, and too little in the way of cheaper but lethal systems—antiship missiles, smart sea mines and well-trained reserve and auxiliary forces—that could seriously complicate Beijing's war plans," said Matt Pottinger, a distinguished visiting fellow at Stanford University's conservative Hoover Institution who served as a deputy national security adviser during the Trump administration.

If any US troops are on Taiwan they'd probably be there to train the Taiwanese. Nothing really new there. The US does that all over the world. But if the PRC/CCP invades, the US troops are very small in numbers. Would probably have little to do with the outcome, AFAIK.

How much "training" do the Taiwanese actually need? It's a pretty serious situation.
Maybe they're "training" on brand new weaponry.

Beijing news outlets are acting rather hysterical.

I read it originally from a link on Drudge. You can bypass the firewall that way. Or, maybe I'm special.

You ARE special.

Legion, yes, but evidently not for Taiwan. But the numbers are small so symbolism matters more, probably.

Trip wire if nothing else.

Latest info I've seen is that the Taiwanese cannot even fill the cockpits of the a/c they have, flight hours have dropped heavily, enlistments are way down (there are better ways to make money in Taiwan then serving in the military, etc. They need to get their act together or there will not be much of a speed bump if things go south.

I was stationed there in the 1960's. Used to run into
T'aiwanese military when hiking in the boonies along the
W. coast of the island.

I read somewhere that there were Green Beret teams in Taiwan.

I was stationed there in the mid 70's and visited 14 times since then. (Family) My only comment is: There was a reason why the US bypassed Taiwan (Formosa at the time) during WWII.

I was stationed there in the mid 70's and visited 14 times since then.

Any go-to restaurants in Taipei you'd recommend? Also, I have only been to two night markets. The Shilin one sucks balls. But I enjoyed the one at Shi-Da, which had a ridiculously popular boba tea stall that was totally worth the wait.

On Military.com – SF & USMC on Taiwan[small numbers] –

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Beijing news outlets are acting rather hysterical.

The PRC/CCP knows how to play the propaganda game. They actually are experts at it …

but evidently not for Taiwan. But the numbers are small so symbolism matters more, probably.

Yes true, but in fact the US trainers could have been there covertly of quite some time … Certainly it was or could have been classified.

Trip wire if nothing else.

Maybe … the numbers are very small. However, based on current US leadership, if the balloon goes up. 🎈 The US troops there will be left behind/expendable, sadly.