Relations between Beijing and Taiwan have become increasingly tense this year as the Chinese military continues flying record numbers of military jets into Taiwanese airspace.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned of an “increasingly aggressive” China earlier this year, making it no surprise that Taiwan’s president – for the first time in 40 years – confirmed in a sit down with CNN that American troops are presently on the island training Taiwanese troops.

“We have a wide range of cooperation with the U.S. aiming at increasing our defense capability,” President Tsai Ing-wen told CNN.

When asked how many U.S. troops were in Taiwan Ing-wen told CNN it wasn’t “as many as people thought.”

In June, the Department of Defense reported 30 active-duty troops were stationed in Taiwan, alongside another 15 reserve troops and Department of Defense civilian officials.

Bolstered U.S.-Taiwan relations, which have been forming under President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, as well as a rise in military-grade weapons sales to the country, has frustrated Beijing.

Chinese state media has asserted that a U.S. military presence in Taiwan, of any size, is perceived as a threat to China’s sovereignty, according to CNN.

Chinese state media responded to Ing-wen’s confirmation that U.S. troops were indeed in Taiwan on Thursday in an op-ed.

The more these people collude with external forces, the faster the punishment from the mainland will arrive," Global Times, widely considered a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, wrote. "As the secessionist forces on the island seek support and protection, at the same time, they are also pushing the mainland to decide to resolve the Taiwan question by force.

Following the release of reports earlier this month of U.S. service members training Taiwanese troops, China released an intimidating “invasion training video” reportedly targeted at Taiwan independence, according to state media.

When Blinken told NBC’s Meet the Press earlier this year that we’ve seen "increasingly aggressive actions by the government in Beijing directed at Taiwan,” he also reiterated the U.S.’s longstanding commitment to the democratic country, “to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself, and to make sure that we're sustaining peace and security in the Western Pacific.”

Ing-wen told CNN that relations have gotten more strained because “China’s plan towards the region is very different,” than it was just 5 years ago.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said his country’s reunification with Taiwan is “inevitable,” France24 reported.