Part 2/12:
During a press conference, Taiwan's defense minister acknowledged that US military groups are now training Taiwanese forces on outlying islands—some located just a mile off China’s coast. These islands, which serve as frontline zones of potential conflict, have become focal points in the tense military posturing between China and Taiwan. While the US has historically been Taiwan’s primary arms supplier and a supporter of its democratic governance, it had maintained an informal stance with no official military presence on the island since 1979.