Taiwan's President Admits Military Is Trained By America, Beijing: US Must Adhere To The One-China Principle

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. (Source: qa.chineseembassy.org)

JAKARTA - China strongly criticized Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's confession, regarding the recognition of threats from Beijing, as well as contacts and training with the United States military.

Tensions over the Taiwan issue have risen over the past month, as Beijing deployed about 150 military aircraft to Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

Meanwhile, Taipei has warned China has the capability to carry out a full-blown invasion by 2025, with United States President Joe Biden pledging to defend Taiwan if necessary.

"The US must adhere to the One China principle and the provisions of the three US-China communiqués. We strongly oppose any official and military contact between the US and Taiwan, as well as US interference in China's internal affairs," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a press statement, stressing the Sino-United States relationship is based on the One China principle, citing the Oct. 28 Daily Sabah.

The statement came after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen confirmed to CNN in an interview that US special forces were present on the island to train their military.

At the same time, President Tsai also claimed the "threats" from China were increasing every day and expressed confidence in Washington's support in the event of an attack.

As previously reported, President Tsai became the first Taiwan leader to acknowledge the presence of US troops on its territory to provide training, citing CNN October 28.

Officially, the last United States garrison left the country in 1979, as Washington's official diplomatic recognition shifted from Taipei to Beijing. Although media reports suggest there are still small-scale deployments.

Taiwan military illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/中華民國總統府)

The US military had posted but later deleted a video in early 2020 showing US Army special forces training soldiers in Taiwan. In November 2020, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense announced and later denied to local media that US troops were training their troops on the island.

"We have various partnerships with the United States aimed at increasing our defense capabilities," he said, although he did not specify the number of US troops training them, but underlined that there were not as many as one might think.

To note, Taiwan has been ruled independently of mainland China since 1949, after the end of the country's civil war. Meanwhile, Beijing regards the island as its province.

Taiwan, a self-governing democratically elected territory, argues it is an autonomous nation and has political and economic ties to several other countries that recognize its sovereignty.

President Tsai said she believed that if Taiwan were to come under attack from mainland China, the US and other regional democracies would help it, "given the long-standing relationship it has with the US."

"Taiwan is not alone because we are a democracy, we respect freedom and we are peace lovers. And we share values with most countries in the region and geographically we have strategic interests," he said, pointing to the island's main role in the supply chain global semiconductor.