SEAL Team Six, the elite US Navy commando unit that finally killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, has been training for a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan, the Financial Times reported.
Few details about the secret training were disclosed, but the team has reportedly been training for this scenario for over a year.
SEAL Team Six is one of two units that are described as “Tier One” and is often dispatched to carry out the most difficult and sensitive missions the US has. The unit achieved global fame for its assassination of Al Qaeda leader and September 11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden, 10 years after the terrorist attacks that brought down the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
Taiwan is self-governed but the Chinese government considers the island part of China and that it will eventually come under Chinese rule.
Concern has grown in recent years that China may move militarily against Taiwan in a manner similar to the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine in February 2022. Taiwan produces about 90% of the world's most advanced microchips, so a Chinese invasion of the island nation could have devastating consequences for high-tech industries.
In 2021, then-US Indo-Pacific commander Phil Davidson warned that China could invade Taiwan within six years, prompting the US to prepare for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan by 2027.
In April 2024, US President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion war aid measure that included aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
In May, the Chinese military held provocative large-scale military drills around Taiwan. “This is also a strong punishment for the separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces and a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces," the Chinese People’s Liberation Army said at the time.
US Adm. Samuel Paparo told the Japanese newspaper Nikkei that the Chinese exercises could be considered a "rehearsal" for a real invasion.