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DPA
Taipei
Taiwan launched a week-long set of military exercises on Monday, including live-fire drills, to defend itself against mock invasive attacks.
The drills are taking place amid tensions over moves from China, including the imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong and a series of incursions by Beijing’s military aircraft into Taiwan’s airspace.
The defence ministry’s Joint Operations Command Center issued an order to begin the week of exercises early Monday morning, the state-owned Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
The main event is a mock defence exercise where combined land, air and sea forces will take on an attempted enemy landing on the coast at Jiannan District in Taichung City on Thursday.
President Tsai Ing-wen will personally observe the drill, which aims to highlight operations by some of Taiwan’s newly-formed combined battalions.
Forces will also carry out the first torpedo test since 2007. One of the navy’s older Netherlands-made attack submarines will fire a German-made heavyweight torpedo at a demobilized frigate.
On the first day of the simulated attack, reserve soldiers were instructed to report to sites across Taiwan before 8 am (1600 GMT) and some civil installations, including car repair shops, shipyards and aircraft hangers, were temporarily taken over for the drill.
CNA cited military sources as saying there would be a drill including military police, ordinary police and coast guard detachments in defending against a “decapitation” assault on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Taiwan F-16 Falcon jet fighters intercepted some Chinese H-6 bombers off the island’s east coast.
Taiwan has its own independent and democratically elected government, but Beijing claims sovereignty over the island.
Taipei
Taiwan launched a week-long set of military exercises on Monday, including live-fire drills, to defend itself against mock invasive attacks.
The drills are taking place amid tensions over moves from China, including the imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong and a series of incursions by Beijing’s military aircraft into Taiwan’s airspace.
The defence ministry’s Joint Operations Command Center issued an order to begin the week of exercises early Monday morning, the state-owned Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
The main event is a mock defence exercise where combined land, air and sea forces will take on an attempted enemy landing on the coast at Jiannan District in Taichung City on Thursday.
President Tsai Ing-wen will personally observe the drill, which aims to highlight operations by some of Taiwan’s newly-formed combined battalions.
Forces will also carry out the first torpedo test since 2007. One of the navy’s older Netherlands-made attack submarines will fire a German-made heavyweight torpedo at a demobilized frigate.
On the first day of the simulated attack, reserve soldiers were instructed to report to sites across Taiwan before 8 am (1600 GMT) and some civil installations, including car repair shops, shipyards and aircraft hangers, were temporarily taken over for the drill.
CNA cited military sources as saying there would be a drill including military police, ordinary police and coast guard detachments in defending against a “decapitation” assault on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Taiwan F-16 Falcon jet fighters intercepted some Chinese H-6 bombers off the island’s east coast.
Taiwan has its own independent and democratically elected government, but Beijing claims sovereignty over the island.
