A Taiwanese Military News Agency photo of Taiwan’s Han Kuang 41 exercise, first spotted by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA), revealed the participation of U.S. Marine Corps Major General Jay M. Bargeron, marking the first known occurrence of a high level Indo-Pacific Command leader participating in Taiwanese military exercises.
Bargeron was seated next to Taiwanese Minister of Defense Gu Lixiong for the event, bearing the title “Fifth Deputy Secretary of the Indo-Pacific Joint Forces” in Mandarin.
Major General Bargeron is the Director of Indo-Pacific Command’s Strategic Planning and Policy Directorate, focused on “developing initiatives for building partner nations’ and U.S. capabilities and capacities in the air, space, land, sea, and cyber domains,” according to the Department of Defense. Bargeron’s participation is likely in an advisory role intended to assist Taiwan’s military in planning for later portions of the Han Kuang exercise.
The live fire portion of Han Kuang will take place this summer and will reportedly be the largest, longest, and most realistic Han Kuang exercise to date, featuring a large number of reservists that would be mobilized in the event of actual preparations for conflict with China. Han Kuang aims to drill the Taiwanese military in the conduct of war between Taiwan and China.
Recent changes to Taiwan’s Han Kuang exercise eliminated pre-scripted scenarios in a bid to better prepare its forces, opting instead for drills involving communications loss, nighttime fighting, and a blue on red exercise focused on having forces adapt to surprises and unexpected strategies.
A Growing American Commitment To Taiwan’s Defense
The United States has been steadily increasing its involvement in Taiwan’s military training and national exercises. Last year the U.S. Army announced that it had permanently deployed a detachment of Green Berets to Taiwan’s Kinmen Island. The U.S. Marine Corps has also reportedly sent forces to train Taiwanese soldiers in asymmetric strategy.
The U.S. Navy also conducted unannounced exercises with the Taiwanese Navy in June 2024 which featured six ships ranging from supply vessels to frigates. Activities ranged from basic communications and resupply operations to joint anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations. Earlier that year, Taiwanese Chief of General Staff Admiral Mei Chia-shu quietly attended INDOPACOM’s change of command ceremony in Hawaii.
In 2023, Commandant of the Marine Corps General Eric M. Smith stated in an interview with Kyodo News that the Taiwan Relations Act allows for the deployment of any services that would help prevent reunification by force, including troops deployed to the island.
“The Taiwan Relations Act… …allows for equipping the transfer of equipment and for other services that would help to prevent any kind of reunification by force.”
Gen. Eric M. Smith, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps
The presence of Major General Bargeron is yet another example of ‘services’ mentioned by General Smith. The Taiwan Relations Act does not bar the participation of U.S. personnel in an advisory role to the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense.
The most recent example of growing Taiwanese-American cooperation is the transformation of an inactive Taiwanese Marine Corps brigade to a structure similar to the U.S. Marine Corps’ 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment. The reformed brigade will serve as an anti-access and area denial force equipped with long range precision strike weapons, mirroring its American counterpart. Major General Bargeron was the commanding general that oversaw the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment’s transition to its current structure.
The U.S. State Department also removed a key part of its fact sheet on Taiwan-U.S. relations last week, removing the key phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence”, a longstanding U.S. policy. The fact sheet added direct U.S. support for Taiwan to enter international organizations as members where applicable.
This is in stark contrast to the new administration’s conduct towards Ukraine which many analysts consider to be detrimental to the possibility of commitment to Taiwan’s defense in war. According to an SCMP report, Taiwan’s government remains ‘indifferent’ to the Trump administration’s policy towards Ukraine, opting instead to play up its trade with the United States and commitment to its own security.
According to Reuters, Taiwan is considering a $7-10 billion dollar purchase of U.S. weapons to convey its commitment to self defense, part of a larger effort spearheaded by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te to increase spending to over 3% of GDP. The ‘special budget plan’ would prioritize command and control systems, precision guided munitions, air defense systems, and additional training equipment for reserve brigades.
If approved, the deal would be one of the largest arms sales for Taiwan and would mark the closest cooperation between the United States and Taiwan since 1979.
