MORE AND MORE SERIOUS:  The numbers are small, but the United States is sending more troops to Taiwan to help train the Taiwanese military.  From Fox: 

The U.S. is preparing to send 100 to 200 troops to Taiwan for training amid rising tensions with China, a U.S. official familiar with the planning confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.
This number will expand a much smaller training program which has included the National Guard, Special Ops, and U.S. Marines in the past.

The Michigan National Guard will also train a contingent of the Taiwanese Army, including some training as part of larger exercises, on U.S. soil.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news, cited U.S. officials as saying only around 30 American troops were stationed in Taiwan about a year ago.

"We don't have a comment on specific operations, engagements, or training, but I would highlight that our support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China," Lt. Col. Marty Meiners, a Defense Department spokesperson, told Fox News on Thursday.

"Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region," he added.

COMMENT:  Inevitably, this will remind some older Americans of the prelude to the Vietnam war, when the United States sent training units to help build the South Vietnamese army.   The American people have a right to know just how committed to Taiwan we're prepared to be, and we have a right to know if any other non-Asians are involved, helping us.

It is an odd relationship we have with Taiwan.  On the one hand, we don't actually recognize it as China.  That label is reserved for mainland China.  On the other hand, we see Taiwan as an extension of the free world in Asia, and therefore worth defending. 

I think we're right to train the Taiwanese.  Taiwan is an old ally.  But what's next in the script, and whose lives will pay for it?  It the president is willing to make a "rock-solid" commitment to Taiwan's defense, maybe it would be wise to have a treaty, ratified by the Senate, with the guarantee written in detail.

February 23, 2023