The Pentagon is “proactively planning” cooperation between the US National Guard and Taiwan’s defense forces, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen revealed on Tuesday, without specifying the details.
Welcoming a delegation led by US Senator Tammy Duckworth, Tsai said Taipei is looking forward to “closer and deeper Taiwan-US cooperation on matters of regional security.” She added that Duckworth was one of the key sponsors of the Taiwan Partnership Act, “which received bipartisan support in the US Congress.”
“As a result, the US Department of Defense is now proactively planning cooperation between the US National Guard and Taiwan’s defense forces,” the Taiwanese President said.
Duckworth, in turn, claimed that she has “a line of people” from the Senate Armed Services Committee willing to sign on to her recent bill, the Strengthen Taiwan’s Security Act.
“So while I want to emphasize our support for Taiwan’s security, I do want to say that it is more than just about military – it’s also about the economy,” the senator said.
Tsai and Duckworth’s statements came a day after the Taiwanese authorities reported China’s second-largest incursion into the island’s air defense zone this year. The Taiwanese Defense Ministry claimed that 30 jets entered the area on Monday, including more than 20 fighters. While Beijing has yet to comment on the latest incident, previously the Chinese government described similar episodes as drills aimed at protecting the country’s sovereignty.