The military yesterday held scheduled anti-landing drills in Pingtung County as China’s military exercises continued in the sea and air around Taiwan.
The Tien Lei live-fire exercises were being conducted at an army range on the county’s coast near Fonggang (楓港) in Fangshan Township (枋山).
The drills, which lasted just under an hour, had long been scheduled for yesterday and tomorrow, said Major General Lou Woei-jye (樓偉傑), spokesman for the Eighth Army Corps.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The 43 Artillery Command and the 333rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade were participating in the counter-amphibious landing exercise in conjunction with other formations and the coast guard, Lou said.
Thirty-eight howitzers were used yesterday and 40 guns would be used tomorrow, as well as six 120mm mortars, he said.
They are regularly scheduled exercises and the target area does not overlap with ongoing Chinese military activity, he said.
Asked about the forecast for heavy rainfall during the Fonggang exercises, Lou said that the army trains to fight in all conditions, as does the nation’s adversary.
The howitzers, positioned in batteries over a 1km front, were seen firing into the target zone one at a time and then in six-gun volleys on the signal of a banner bearer.
In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) warned Taiwan against conducting the drills.
“Any conspiracy to go against the trend of history and resist ‘reunification’ through arms ... will end in failure like a mantis trying to stop a chariot,” Wang told a regular news briefing.
The Chinese military drills have been extended from their planned conclusion on Monday.
The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army said in a statement that it was conducting training exercises around Taiwan, “focusing on joint blockade and joint support operations.”
In contrast to last week, no “notices to airmen” have been issued for the new drills, which would warn sea and air traffic of areas to avoid.
The Ministry of National Defense said it detected 45 Chinese planes and 10 ships operating in the Taiwan Strait yesterday, with 16 planes crossing the waterway’s median line.
An anonymous source told Reuters that about 20 Taiwanese and Chinese naval vessels held close to the line yesterday morning.
Several Chinese vessels also conducted missions off Taiwan’s eastern coast yesterday, the source familiar with the security planning in the region said.
In response, Taiwan scrambled a combat air patrols, sent radio warnings and deployed defensive missile systems to expel Chinese military planes and vessels, the ministry said in a statement.
Also yesterday, the Eastern Theater Command released more details about anti-submarine drills it conducted on Monday, saying they were aimed at enhancing the ability of air and sea units to work together while hunting submarines.
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