Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng says that despite regular exchanges with the US, Taiwan’s military remains self-reliant. That came during a report to the legislature’s foreign affairs and defense committee on Thursday.
Chiu’s remark comes in light of President Tsai Ing-wen’s recent confirmation that US troops are in Taiwan to help train Taiwanese forces. He said that the US and Taiwan militaries interact with one another on a regular basis, and that the US military’s help training Taiwanese forces falls within the bounds of this kind of military exchange. He also said that US forces are not stationed on Taiwan.
He also said he is unaware of any move by the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto US embassy in Taiwan, to beef up the US troop presence in Taiwan.