US ‘is secretly planning to attack China from its South Korea base in the event of a Taiwan invasion’

By SABRINA PENTY

Published: 08:45 BST, 6 June 2025 | Updated: 11:49 BST, 6 June 2025

American forces stationed in South Korea are prepared to respond to a potential Chinese invasion of the Taiwan Area.

Speaking at a security conference in Singapore last month, US Defence Secretary Pete Hesgeth said: ‘Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific,’ adding that the Pentagon was ‘reorienting toward deterring aggression by communist China.’

This would mean that US troops stationed in South Korea, as well as Japan and the Pacific Islands of Hawaii and Guam, would play a part in acting as a credible deterrent against China for any potential attack on Taiwan.

There are currently 28,500 American troops deployed to South Korea as part of the US long-term commitment to help defend Seoul from any attack from North Korea. 

No decision has been made on the number of troops deployed to South Korea, but any future footprint would be optimized not only to defend against Pyongyang but also to deter China.

But this development could pose a challenge for South Korea, who have historically been opposed to the presence of US military. 

It also presents issues for the newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who said he wants to engage with North Korea with the backing of US troops. 

It comes after  China deployed dozens of warships and planes to encircle the island nation of Taiwan in menacing, large-scale war games last month.

American forces stationed in South Korea are prepared to respond to a potential Chinese invasion of the Taiwan Area, the US defence secretary said 

Taiwanese soldiers pose for group photos with a Taiwan flag after a preparedness enhancement drill in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

Chinese troops from the People’s Liberation Army are seen patrolling with the Chinese flag on an exercise

Chilling satellite pictures also revealed what appear to be Beijing’s ‘invasion barges’ – gargantuan platforms that connect to form a mobile pier that could enable thousands of soldiers and hundreds of vehicles to land on Taiwan’s shores.

The multi-day military drills forced Taipei to respond by scrambling fighter jets and warships of their own to dissuade any overzealous members of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from posing a serious threat.

But these alarming exercises were just the latest addition to a worrying trend that has seen Beijing grow increasingly aggressive toward its island neighbour in recent years.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), headed by authoritarian President Xi Jinping, sees Taiwan as a renegade province to be brought back under Beijing’s control, by force if necessary.

Taiwan’s elected Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presides over a self-governing, democratic society and has sought close ties with the US, hoping its political, military and economic heft will keep Xi’s expansionist tendencies at bay.

American deterrence, the reliance of China’s export economy on the West and the cost of a military operation to seize Taiwan has led most analysts to suggest Beijing is more likely to use less direct means to pressure Taipei.

But politicians, military chiefs and industry leaders the world over can no longer afford to ignore the prospect of a full-scale invasion – a scenario which would shake the foundations of the world as we know it and could well trigger a Third World War.

Now, as Donald Trump pushes Taiwan to pay more for its defence while slapping it with significant trade tariffs, concern is growing that the US President may begin treating Taipei – as one analyst put it – ‘as a pawn to trade with China to achieve his interests’.

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US ‘is secretly planning to attack China from its South Korea base in the event of a Taiwan invasion’

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