Analysts say if Financial Times’ report that elite team is training to defend Taiwan is accurate, it would be to protect key targets from China’s attack and send a message of deterrence to Beijing

In response to increasing tensions with China, the US Navy’s elite Seal Team 6 has been preparing for potential missions in Taiwan, according to sources close to the preparations. The covert commando unit,

Navy SEAL Team 6 has been planning and training for a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan for the last year, per the Financial Times.

SEAL Team Six, the US Navy commando unit that killed Osama Bin Laden, has spent more than a year training to help Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, according to a new report. Members of the team — which is one of only two hyper elite “Tier One” special operations squads in the US — have been preparing to deploy to Taiwan in the event that China’s People’s Liberation Army crosses the Taiwan Strait and invades the democratic island,