The passage of two US guided missile destroyers through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday was not an isolated incident, but a signal of the expansion of the US’ military presence in the region, Institute for National Policy Research executive director Kuo Yu-jen (郭育仁) said yesterday.

US forces in Japan and Guam are to expand their reach to the south and west respectively, he said, adding that the US military is likely to normalize naval drills around Taiwan as a check on China.