Tok-a-Tok died prior to the Japanese Expedition, and his tribe were opponents of the Botan, himself having opposed the murder of the Ryukyuans that led to the expedition. His temporary replacement, Chief Issa/Esok/Esa (伊厝), who was leading in lieu of his son's (probably Tsului (朱雷))) adolescence, was the one who negotiated a peace with Cassel within the first days of the expedition, and tribes under his control supported the Japanese in their war against the Botans. I'm unsure who the Chief of the Botans was, but it certainly wasn't Tok-a-Tok. With Tok-a-Tok both being dead at the time of the expedition, and his tribe being peaceful with the Japanese during it, I thus feel his listing as Commander isn't at all appropriate.
I also feel as though the figure of 27,000 'Paiwans' seems to incorporate all sixteen southern tribes, rather than just the Botans who the Japanese actually opposed, and is thus a gross exaggeration with the Botans having numbered a few hundred at the most. Likewise the inclusion of the Qing Dynasty as a belligerent is also incorrect, as the Qing never engaged in combat against the Japanese. If the Qing are included for their claims of sovereignty over the entirety of Taiwan, it goes in the face of the entire rationale of the expedition being that the Qing lacked control over the Southern tribes, which was in a sense proven both by Japan's success in the expedition and the Qing bringing Southern Taiwan under it's control by force in the aftermath.
Given the information above, I've removed Tok-a-Tok as commander, corrected the belligerents to the Botan tribe specifically, and removed the strength of the Botan until I can dig back up an estimate from my sources.
For source on Tok-a-Tok opposing the murder of the Ryukyuans, see Foreign Adventurers and the Aborigines of Southern Taiwan, 1867-1874 by Robert Eskilden, pp. 170-171For source of Tok-a-Tok's tribe negotiating a peace with Cassel, see idib pp. 205-206 UncleBourbon (talk) 05:48, 10 July 2021 (UTC)
When I previously edited this article a year or two ago, I added Douglas Cassel as Commander, only for him to be removed. The reason for the removal apparently being he was foreign adviser.
I disagree with this removal, as Cassel somewhat exceeded his role as adviser and proved important to the expedition; as stated in Eskildsen, Robert (2010). "An Army as Good and Efficient as Any in the World: James Wasson and Japan's 1874 Expedition to Taiwan" (PDF). Asian Cultural Studies (36): 45–62.Cassel commanded the 100 man advance party, was leader of negotiations with Chief Issa, and established a battle plan that would ultimately be employed during the decisive Battle of Stone Gate, even if extemporaneously. He also was in a position to argue with and change the mind of Noriyoshi Akamatsu regarding his attacks on allied native villages.