Troops from Taiwan training at Michigan base: Former U.S. diplomat

Washington, Sept. 27 (CNA) A former United States diplomat told lawmakers this week while testifying about a controversial Chinese battery factory in Michigan that troops from America's allies, including Taiwan, have been training at Camp Grayling in the state.

Joseph Cella, the former U.S. ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu, made the remarks during a hearing on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held Tuesday by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

The United States government had not previously confirmed the presence of Taiwanese troops at the Michigan base.

Cella, now the director of the citizen-led Michigan China Economic Security and Review Group, said a proposed factory by Chinese lithium-ion battery maker Gotion was about 70 miles away from Camp Grayling and would pose a threat to the secure U.S. military installation.

"Camp Grayling is the hub of the National All-Domain Warfighting Center, which trains our troops and those of our allies, including Taiwan, in strategic and tactical battle operations," he said.

According to information on the military camp's website, it is the main training facility for the Michigan National Guard and is also the largest National Guard training facility in the U.S.

Concerning Camp Grayling, Ely Ratner, U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, was asked during a House Select Committee hearing last year if he agreed that any location, including Camp Grayling, that are training Taiwanese troops should be considered a sensitive site.

Ratner at the time would not confirm, except to say that he preferred to discuss topics of military engagement with Taiwan in a classified setting.

At the House committee hearing, Cella tried to highlight the CCP threat through the example of the proposed plant in Michigan.

"I witnessed malign influence through a subnational incursion and influence operation by a PRC-based and CCP-tied lithium-ion battery manufacturer, Gotion," he said, referring to attempted bribes and corruption to secure approval of the plant.

"U.S. national security and intelligence agencies convened a group of bipartisan state and local elected officials and business executives across the country to warn them of China's political warfare," Cella said.

"Despite these warnings, all supporting the Gotion project brazenly defied them....And that's just one of many examples across the United States of how China threatens our national security and sovereignty," he said.

The factory has become a hot-button political topic in Michigan in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election in early November.

Republicans, trying to mobilize anti-China sentiment, have spoken out against the plant, while Democrats have been more supportive of it.