Secret Deployment of US Troops to Taiwan

by Stephen Lendman

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported the following:

US troops have been "secretly training" Taiwanese forces "for at least a year," adding:

A "special-operations unit and contingent of marines" are involved, citing unnamed US officials.

Claiming they number "two dozen (along with) support troops" may way understate the extent of Pentagon ties to Taiwan's military.

The roach theory applies. When see one, most likely many more are around.

China considers Taiwan a breakaway province, an "inalienable part of (its) territory" to be reunited with the mainland.

A Foreign Ministry statement earlier stressed that there's "only one China," adding:

"(T)he government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing" the mainland and Taiwan.

Beijing "firmly opposes any form of official ties between the United States and the Taiwan region." 

There's no ambiguity about its position on this core issue.

The one-China policy agreed to by the US was first mentioned in the Shanghai Communique on February 28 1972 during Nixon's visit to Beijing. 

It stressed the importance for both countries to normalize relations.

On January 1, 1979, the Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations agreed to by Jimmy Carter and Deng Xiaoping formally established bilateral relations, ending official recognition of Taiwan, announced by Carter in December 1978."

"The (1992 Consensus) one-China principle affirms a single sovereign China comprised of the mainland and Taiwan."

The Trump regime unilaterally changed what Beijing called "nonnegotiable."

Pompeo announced it, saying "all self-imposed restrictions (on Washington's one-China policy) are "lift(ed)," adding:

"(R)elations with Taiwan previously issued by the Department of State under authorities delegated to the Secretary of State (are) null and void."

"(T)he US-Taiwan relationship need not, and should not, be shackled by self-imposed restrictions of our permanent bureaucracy."

Pompeo's announcement breached the decade's long Sino/US one-China policy by virtually recognizing Taiwanese sovereignty.

On October 8, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhou Lijian said the following in response to the report about US special forces involved in training Taiwanese troops:

"(T)he one-China principle is the political foundation of China-US relations." 

"China and the US established diplomatic relations on the premise of three principles" as follows:

Washington "should sever 'diplomatic relations' and abrogate the 'mutual defense treaty' with Taiwan authorities and withdraw US military forces from" from its territory. 

"The US explicitly pledges in the China-US Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations that it will 'maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.' " 

"The US should fully recognize the highly sensitive nature of Taiwan-related issues and the gravely detrimental nature of relevant issues…"

It should strictly "abide by the one-China principle, the three China-US joint communiques, and stop arms sales to and military ties with Taiwan to avoid seriously damaging China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait." 

Beijing "will take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity."

In response to reports of a CIA China-focused unit on the phony pretext of countering threats by Beijing that don't exist, Zhou said:

"This is a typical symptom of the Cold War mentality." 

Washington "should view China's development and China-US relations in an objective and rational light and stop doing things detrimental to mutual trust and cooperation between" both countries. 

Separately, Zhou denounced Washington's "long (history of) making trouble in the South China Sea in the name of 'freedom of navigation,' which poses a grave threat and major risks for regional peace and stability."

Days earlier, China's Global Times called the deployment of US special forces and marines to Taiwan "a very severe matter," adding:

Beijing "must respond to" the provocation.

Whatever the number of US forces in Taiwan at this time, perhaps hundreds or thousands more will arrive "to form a de facto US garrison" in its territory.

The Biden regime is "playing with fire."

Its actions risk "provok(ing) a war, and the consequences their acts will bring are unbearable to both the US and Taiwan island."

Beijing considers US forces in the territory an "invasion."

On October 9, President Xi Jinping warned Taiwanese separatists and their US supporter, saying:

"Those who forget their heritage, betray their motherland, and seek to split the country will come to no good end."

"They will be disdained by the people and condemned by history."

Time and again, Xi and other Chinese officials stressed that Taiwan is part of the nation's territory.

"National reunification by peaceful means best serves the interests of the Chinese nation as a whole, including compatriots in Taiwan," Xi stressed.

There's no compromise on this core principle.

Former head of Taiwan's pro-reunification New Party, Yok Muming, predicted resolution of the Taiwan question "within two years."

According to an unnamed Chinese expert on Taiwan affairs, Beijing has shown great patience in wanting to resolve things peacefully, adding:

The current situation is like an old Chinese saying: 

"The trees prefer stillness but the wind will not cease."

Separately according to Xiamen, China-based Taiwan Research Institute's Li Fei:

"There are some forces, especially the separatist ruling Democratic Progressive Party on the island and the US that are encouraging the DPP to seek secession."

They're "trying to challenge the mainland's sincerity and patience by increasing the degree of provocation, including strengthening military cooperation and diplomatic interactions."

"All of these dangerous acts have challenged the bottom-line of the mainland and seriously offended the Chinese people, the US and the Taiwan secessionists are trying to hijack the people on the island to seek their own interests under the risk of war."

Independence from the mainland is not an option, Xi stressed last week, adding:

"The Taiwan question is purely an internal matter for China, one which brooks no external interference.

"The complete reunification of our country will be and can be realized."

While achieving it by war is highly unlikely, provocative actions by hegemon USA make the unthinkable possible.

Last week, State Department spokesman Price provocatively said the following:

The Biden regimes' "commitment to Taiwan is rock solid."

"(W)e'll continue to deepen our ties with" the island. 

If Asia/Pacific war occurs ahead, after a near-half century hiatus, it'll again be made-in-the-USA.

VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.wordpress.com (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My two Wall Street books are timely reading:

"How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion, and Class War"

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"Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity"

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