DEFENSE/U.S. admiral refutes report of special forces permanently stationed in Kinmen

Washington, March 20 (CNA) The head of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral John Aquilino, said Wednesday that contrary to a recent news report, there are no American special forces personnel permanently stationed on Taiwan's outlying Kinmen Island.

Aquilino refuted the report when he was asked during a U.S. House Armed Service Committee hearing whether American Green Berets had been stationed permanently in Kinmen to train Taiwanese troops there.

The question, raised during the hearing on the U.S.' military posture in the Indo-Pacific region, cited the American military news outlet SOFREP, which reported in early March that military instructors from the U.S. Army Special Forces had "started to take up permanent positions" at the Taiwanese Army's amphibious command centers in Kinmen and Penghu.

The missions of the American forces there included regular training and exercises alongside Taiwan's elite forces, and those deployments had been made in line with the U.S. 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, the report said.

Responding to lawmakers' questions on the issue, Aquilino said the information was inaccurate.

"Let me just say the article is incorrect. There is no permanent stationing of U.S. forces there," he told the committee. "We can talk in a classified setting for further evaluation, but that is just inherently inaccurate."

Also during the hearing, Republican Representative Matt Gaetz expressed concern over possible infiltration of Taiwan's military by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China and the consequences of such a scenario.

"I worry whether or not we're gonna be able to rely on the uniformed service there [in Taiwan]," Gaetz said. "So, is there a plan at the [U.S.] Department of Defense to kind of make these assessments about a Home Guard and ensure that you have small arms in the hands of these people that might deter a Chinese invasion?"

In response, Aquilino said there "absolutely" is such a plan but he would prefer to discuss it in a classified setting.