US Plans To More Than Quadruple Troop Presence In Taiwan

The United States plans to significantly boost its troop presence in Taiwan and more than quadruple the number of soldiers stationed there due to what it regards as a rising threat from China, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing US officials

The US currently has 30 troops stationed on the island but plans to send an additional 100 to 200 soldiers there in the coming months, the report said.

The larger contingent of soldiers will include special-operations forces and US Marines, who will be tasked with expanding an existing training program that the Pentagon has sought to keep out of the public eye, according to the report.

The goal of the expanded training program is to get Taiwan to adopt a "porcupine strategy," or an asymmetric military method aimed at repelling any Chinese offensive on the island, according to the report.

Separately, the Pentagon is also running a training program for a group of Taiwanese military soldiers at Camp Grayling in northern Michigan, the report said.

That program, which is being conducted by the Michigan National Guard, has seen the Taiwanese soldiers take part in annual drills with multiple countries.