Taiwan Air Force Official Reveals Details Of Rare NATO Interaction
NDTV
Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, has no formal diplomatic relations with any NATO members but has close defence ties with the United States.
A Taiwan air force officer revealed details on Wednesday of a rare interaction between the island's military and NATO, describing how he had attended a six-month academic programme with senior officials in Italy.
Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, has no formal diplomatic relations with any NATO members, but has close defence ties with the United States, the island's main international source of arms and NATO's largest member state.
Speaking to reporters on a trip to the Hsinchu air base in northern Taiwan, air force Lieutenant Colonel Wu Bong-yeng said he had attended a six-month course at the NATO Defence College in Rome in 2021, returning to Taiwan in January last year.
"This was an academic exchange, not a military exchange," he said. "Of course they were very curious about Taiwan."
