Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, expects SEALs to do two things. One, he told BI, "is training Taiwanese forces in reconnaissance and perhaps direct attack, focusing on missions that might be required to defeat a Chinese invasion." "Naval reconnaissance forces would locate Chinese forces for long-range attacks," he said, adding: "They might also launch attacks against offshore ships or shipping in Chinese ports." Another one, he said, is familiarizing themselves with the terrain so that they might be better employed if necessary.
An elite Navy SEAL unit may be preparing Taiwanese forces for reconnaissance operations and missions to repel a Chinese invasion, retired Navy officers said after a report said the unit had been training for such an eventuality for over a year.
The U.S. has become more hawkish on defending Taiwan in recent years, indicating a shift in military posture and strategy in response to China's growing assertiveness in the region.
However, the unit's contingency plans - like most of its missions - are highly classified, and people familiar with its planning did not provide details to the FT about the specific missions it's preparing for.
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