Biden Nominee Proposes Building Up Taiwan’s Ability To Fight Irregular War

Christopher Maier, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 27 that the U.S. “should be considering strongly” an effort to help Taiwan strengthen its ability to conduct irregular warfare. “I do think that is something that we should be considering strongly as we think about competition across the span of different capabilities we can apply, [special operations forces] being a key contributor to that,” Maier said in response to questions from Sen. Josh Hawley, reported South China Morning Post. Maier said special operators could help Taiwanese troops hone their skills to, for example, counteract potential enemy amphibious landings. Information operations was a key area in which special operators could help conventional forces deter mainland Chinese aggression, he said.