According to Taiwan, a small number of American soldiers are on the island to train the soldiers there. President Tsai Ing-wen confirmed this on Thursday in an interview with the American television broadcaster CNN. "We have a wide range of collaborations with the US aimed at increasing our defense capabilities," said Tsai. When asked how many US soldiers were deployed in Taiwan, she replied that there were not as many as The training takes place amid heightened tensions between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China, which claims the island as part of their territory. 

Taiwan's Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said there had been frequent military exchanges between the US and Taiwan for a long time. Any topic can be addressed. He underlined that President Tsai did not say that the US soldiers were permanently stationed in Taiwan.

Before that, Tsai had identified a growing threat to her country in the conflict with Beijing.

The threat from China "is increasing every day," Tsai said in an interview on CNN on Wednesday.

She trusted that the United States would stand by Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

At the same time, Tsai called on democratic partners in the region to support the island republic.

“If authoritarian regimes show expansionist tendencies, democratic countries should band together to confront them.

Taiwan is at the forefront. "

Clear words from Biden

American President Joe Biden had promised more clearly than his predecessors last week that the United States would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack by China.

China reacted indignantly and accused the US of meddling in internal affairs.

The communist leadership in Beijing regards Taiwan as part of the People's Republic and threatens to conquer it.

The US has committed itself to Taiwan's defense capability - which so far has mainly meant arms deliveries.

The question of military assistance in the event of an attack was deliberately left open because Beijing saw it as a violation of its “one-China doctrine”.

With this "strategic ambiguity" by the US, Beijing should be left in the dark about what the US would do in the event of war.