A “Tier One” force is reportedly preparing to assist the island nation of Taiwan against a mainland superpower’s overwhelming and relentless force.

The United States Navy’s SEAL Team 6 is currently training for the types of missions that may occur if the People’s Republic of China opens hostilities against its island neighbor, the Financial Times reported.

According to the report, SEAL Team 6 has been training for the simmering conflict for over a year at the elite force’s Dam Neck, Virginia, headquarters.

The secret training comes as forces from both Eastern and Western powers fortify the Pacific powderkeg.

Communist China is driving much of the volatility, claiming wide swaths of the South China Sea despite other Asian nations holding valid claims to it.

Chinese “Coast Guard” ships routinely appear far away from the mainland, harassing American allies and even seizing their ships.

To further secure these expansionist claims, China has for years fortified the waters near its coast with artificial islands, where it bases launch sites for ship-killing missiles. The move appears to be a direct response to American naval domination. The missiles allow China to confront expensive warships at a fraction of the cost and production time.

The islands themselves are virtually unsinkable, with only direct action or a precise strike likely to put launch sites out of commission.

Some experts have predicted that a confrontation between China and the United States on Asia’s side of the Pacific Ocean could result in an unprecedented defeat for American forces.

For any Navy SEALs on Taiwan when the shooting starts, the situation looks grim.

If Chinese missiles able to pose enough of a threat to keep U.S. warships away, forces on Taiwan would be largely isolated. Save for whatever ships and submarines are able to run the blockade, soldiers defending the tiny nation would only have their existing caches and stores to rely on.

Thankfully, the United States military is not taking this threat lightly.

In recent months, two dormant World War II-era Pacific airfields have been brought back to life by the United States. Formerly military constructions on islands held by Japan, the airstrips were taken after American forces liquidated the imperial defenders in a costly assault and used to further the campaign against the empire.

The airstrips, on the islands of Peleliu and Tinian, are some 1,600 miles away from China’s shore.

Mainland China has been threatening forceful “reunification” with Taiwan for decades, but in recent years, the situation has become more heated than ever.

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a rump state remnant of the Chinese government that was pushed off the mainland in the country’s last civil war.

The People’s Republic of China, established by the successful communist revolutionaries, now considers the island of Taiwan a wayward province that needs to be brought under Beijing’s control.

While China’s future plans for the island are unknown, it’s clear any invaders on Taiwan’s shores will find a tenacious and dedicated defense, perhaps even sprinkled with a few Navy SEALs.

Assignment Editor

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