In response to increasing tensions with China, the US Navy’s elite Seal Team 6 has been preparing for potential missions in Taiwan, according to sources close to the preparations.
What Happened: The covert commando unit, renowned for its role in the 2011 operation that resulted in Osama bin Laden’s death, has been training for a potential Taiwan conflict for over a year at its Virginia Beach headquarters, reported The Financial Times.
The increased training underscores the escalating U.S. focus on deterring China from invading Taiwan, while also preparing for such a possibility. This follows a warning from the former U.S. Indo-Pacific commander, Phil Davidson, in 2021 that China could attack Taiwan within six years.
Despite officials asserting that a conflict with China is “neither imminent nor inevitable,” the U.S. military has hastened contingency preparations in response to the rapid modernization of the People’s Liberation Army and President Xi Jinping’s directive to have the capability to take Taiwan by force by 2027.
The Pentagon has ramped up the deployment of regular special forces to Taiwan for missions that include training the Taiwanese military. However, Seal Team 6’s activities are more sensitive due to the highly classified nature of its covert missions.
As the threat from terror groups has diminished, special operations forces have joined the rest of the US military and the intelligence community in intensifying their focus on China. CIA director Bill Burns recently disclosed that 20% of his budget is now allocated to China, marking a 200% increase over three years.
Why It Matters: The escalating tensions between the US and China over Taiwan have been evident for some time. In August, China allocated $15 billion to Western Pacific military drills, highlighting Beijing’s escalating military investment in the vicinity of Taiwan and neighboring regions.
In September, the newly appointed quasi-ambassador from the U.S. to Taiwan, Raymond Greene, expressed confidence in Taiwan’s defense reforms, which he believes contribute to stability across the Taiwan Strait and the wider security scenario in the Indo-Pacific.
Image via Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
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