Relations between China and Taiwan are described as more frosty than in several decades, and reports of Chinese military aircraft in Taiwan's air defense zone have replaced each other in recent weeks.
This week, the conflict escalated further when US President Joe Biden announced that he was prepared to support Taiwan with military troops in the event of a Chinese attack.
American troops in place
Several media outlets have reported that exercises are underway, but the information has not been confirmed by either the White House or Taiwan.
Now Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has confirmed that US troops have been given the go-ahead to conduct military exercises on Taiwanese soil.
In an interview with CNN, Ing-wen says that a small number of troops have arrived in the country.
"We have a broad cooperation with the United States in order to increase our defense capacity," the president told CNN on Thursday.
When asked how many soldiers participate in the exercises, she answered:
- Not as many as the public thought.
The statement is the first military connection between the United States and Taiwan since permanent US troops left the island in 1979.
China's anger: No way back
The message has once again made China look red.
"Taiwan's independence is a dead end and there is no going back for those who support it," China's foreign policy spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a comment to AFP after the CNN interview.
He added:
- The United States should not underestimate the strong determination of the Chinese people to preserve national sovereignty and territorial integrity.