The United States withdrew its troops from Taiwan in 1979, when it established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, amid burgeoning tensions between the two countries and China threatening an invasion of Taiwan, the US troops are back on the self-ruled island state.
China maintains that Taiwan, a self-governing island, is a renegade Chinese province that must be reunited with the Chinese mainland, with force if necessary.
To help Taiwan thwart a potential Chinese invasion, the US is aiding the ‘island state’ with a comprehensive military modernization effort by selling several battle-tested, big-ticket weapons to its military.
China has repeatedly accused the United States of turning Taiwan into a powder keg by supplying lethal arms, warning that Taiwan is a red line that the US must not cross.
However, unbothered by the Chinese condemnation, the US has now disclosed that it has put its boots on the ground in Taiwan — a move that could infuriate Beijing.
Retired US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery made the first-ever disclosure about the existence of a joint training team in Taiwan on May 15 at a hearing conducted by the US House Select Committee on China titled “Deterrence Amid Rising Tensions: Preventing CCP Aggression on Taiwan.”
“That’s a US team there that’s about 500 people now,” Montgomery said, adding, “It needs to be a thousand.” Making a case for more troops in Taiwan, he said, “If we are going to give them billions of dollars in assistance and sell them tens of billions of dollars worth of US gear, it makes sense that we would be over there training and working.”
Montgomery noted that the Department of Defense is mandated to train Taiwan’s soldiers under the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act. Asserting that the rollout has been delayed, he said, “I would say gently they have been slow.”
Raising the stakes against China significantly, Montgomery said that the US can assist Taiwan in preparing to repel a Chinese invasion. However, he added, “It’s going to take US engagement and involvement in this to get them to the point where they have a true counter-intervention force.”
Last year, some reports indicated that the US Special Forces had started to take permanent positions at Kinmen and Penghu, Taiwan’s frontline islands. However, these reports were later refuted by the US Indo-Pacific Commander, Admiral John Aquilino.
“Let me just say the article is incorrect. There is no permanent stationing of US forces there,” Aquilino said. “We can talk in a classified setting for further evaluation, but that is just inherently inaccurate,” he told the US House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services.
The latest official disclosure made by Montgomery marks a significant shift from a previously discreet partnership to a more open defense support strategy.
The United States adheres to the One China policy and does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taipei. It only retains the right to sell arms to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.
The act stipulates that the United States “will make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.”
However, putting boots on the ground could be seen as escalatory, even though experts assessed that it is likely meant to train Taiwanese troops on using American weapons.
China has not officially responded to the disclosure; however, Chinese state media, CCTV, carried a rare broadcast in response to the hearing. It showed islanders denouncing US efforts as “pushing Taiwan towards the danger of war,” but did not give any information on the PLA’s specific plans for a response.
The mention of war could be noteworthy. China has conducted several military drills around Taiwan in recent times, practicing cutting off Taiwan and thwarting external interference efforts from Taiwan’s international backers.
On its part, the US maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity” regarding whether it would intervene militarily if Taiwan were attacked, and there is no formal military treaty between the US and Taiwan. The consistent, ambiguous US stance aims to complicate the PLA’s calculations as it prepares for a potential invasion.
Although Donald Trump has not explicitly outlined his policy toward Taiwan, his picks for the incoming administration suggest a continuation of engagement with Taiwan. For instance, Pete Hegseth, the nominee for Secretary of Defense, reiterated US support for Taiwan at his Senate confirmation hearing on January 14.
Acknowledging the presence of troops in Taiwan could be tantamount to taking a clear stance and deterring Beijing from attempting a military misadventure.
This comes amid expanding defense cooperation between the US and Taiwan, with the Pentagon now accelerating the delivery of arms that have been marred by delays, and Taiwan agreeing to increase its defense budget to a substantial 3% of its GDP.
US-Taiwan Military Cooperation
While campaigning for the presidential election, Donald Trump stated that Taiwan should pay the US for protection and suggested that it increase its defense spending to 10% of its gross domestic product (GDP).
The Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai told lawmakers in March 2025 that the government “does not have the capacity” to spend 10% of its gross domestic product (GDP) annually on national defense due to resource constraints.
Later that month, President Lai Ching-te said he would increase the island’s military spending from 2.5% to over 3% of its gross domestic product amid China threats and Trump’s demands. However, the US has now set its sights on encouraging Taiwan to eventually allocate at least 5% of its GDP to defense.
When asked why Taiwan should hike its defense spending to 5%, Montgomery put forth three arguments. First, he said more money for defuse will ensure that Taiwan has enough funds for siege-proofing.
Second, he stated that this amount of money “will buy them not just the systems they need, but readiness.” He pointed out that Taiwan’s government will invest many billions of US dollars in preparations to reach the 3% milestone it has set for this year.
Third, he noted that historically, democracies have been able to support a maximum level of military spending of 5%.
Montgomery refuted claims that Taiwan should allocate 10% of its GDP to defense, stating that this would equate to US$40 billion (NT$1.2 trillion) in annual weapons purchases, while the US generates only US$3.5 billion in annual arms sales.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the United States has sold more than US$70 billion worth of weapons to Taipei in recent years. However, a significant portion of these arms has not been delivered to Taiwan.
The US is arming Taiwan with MQ-9 drones, MANPADS, Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems, F-16 Viper jets, HIMARS, and Abrams Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), to name just a few.
Although several of these arms are already in the pipeline, US senators are pressuring the Pentagon and the White House to accelerate the delivery of arms to Taiwan. The goals are twofold: to aid Taiwan in fending off China and to deter China from considering an attack in the first place by providing Taipei with sufficient weapons to make an invasion very costly.
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