U.S. set to expand number of troops in Taiwan as potential China threat intensifies

by Summer Lane

Photo: Alamy

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) will reportedly expand the number of boots on the ground in Taiwan, according to multiple reports.

This news comes after escalating tensions between China and Taiwan amid the ongoing war in Eastern Europe between Russia and Ukraine.

According to a report from Just the News, the DOD will deploy between 100 to 200 more troops to Taiwan over the next few months, significantly increasing their current soldier count, which currently sits at 23.

The move to deploy more troops overseas may be alarming to those who have long been concerned about the threat of potential Chinese aggression toward Taiwan. In fact, in early 2022, President Trump predicted that Taiwan would be the next hotspot of potential invasion in the wake of Russia’s foray into Ukrainian territory.

Per Fox Business, Trump told Fox host Maria Bartiromo in March 2022, “Taiwan is going to be next. Just watch Taiwan; President Xi is watching with glee.”

The DOD’s move to beef up the number of troops in Taiwan comes shortly after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina.

As reported by RSBN, the Pentagon confirmed this week that the payload from the now-downed balloon included surveillance equipment and solar panels, among other items.

In 2022, Trump also told Bartiromo that Chinese President Xi was set to seize on an opportunity to step into Taiwan after watching Biden’s catastrophic and botched withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Via Fox, Trump said, “President Xi happens to be a man with a high intelligence level, and he looks at what happened in Afghanistan … He saw the way that we left Afghanistan … left American citizens there – is still trying to get out – he sees that, and this is his opportunity to do what he wants to do.”

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