The U.S. and Taiwanese navies conducted joint exercises in the Pacific in April that did not take place officially, four people briefed on the matter said, as the two militaries strengthen cooperation amid rising Chinese military threats.
Washington and Taipei have expanded their military cooperation in recent years, amid near-daily Chinese incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and exercises by Chinese forces near the island.
US and Taiwan military involvement, including visits and training, is kept on the back burner and often not officially confirmed due to China’s objection to military contacts between Washington and Taipei. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, which the island strongly rejects.
