The air force early this morning conducted its quarterly defense drill involving its main fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles to strengthen the nation's air defense capabilities, it said in a statement.
The military exercise was conducted from 5am to 7am to bolster the nation's defense capabilities and test the response and engagement procedures of air defense units, the air force said.
The exercise is intended to evaluate the readiness and engagement procedures of all military branches, enhance overall operational effectiveness and ensure the security of Taiwan’s airspace, the Ministry of National Defense wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
The exercise was part of air force training designed to simulate realistic wartime scenarios and prepare for potential threats and challenges, it added.
The “Integrated Air and Missile Defense Exercise" involved fighter jets, including Indigenous Defense Fighters, Mirage 2000-5s and F-16Vs, as well as C-130H transport aircraft, army helicopters, missile defense systems and naval vessels to simulate an attack from a Chinese aircraft carrier on eastern Taiwan.
The functions of the Joint Combat Operation Center were also tested during the exercises.
In the drill, the Joint Operations Command Center issued orders simulating enemy attacks on key positions followed by participating units conducting joint operations to counter threats.
The main simulated scenario was the Chinese army gaining air superiority over the area, including attack helicopters landing special forces at Hualien County’s Jiashan (佳山) airbase where they engaged in offensive and defensive drills.
Although the army did not deploy tanks, it did successfully use smoke and chemical defense units to obscure the base and disrupt precision strikes.
Past exercises simulated the defending of critical infrastructure under enemy attack across the nation by air defense combat units and the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command.
Reuters tied the timing of the drills to President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming trip to Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific, with a scheduled US stopover.
Regional security officials told Reuters that they expect China to launch its own military drills in the coming days in response to Lai’s trip, which starts on Saturday and runs through Friday next week.
This also comes following reports from the Ministry of National Defense that it spotted two Chinese balloons off the coast of Keelung on Thursday last week.
China “firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the US and the Taiwan region, firmly opposes any visit by the leader of the Taiwan authorities to the US in any name or under whatever pretext,” a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday last week.
The spokesperson also refused to acknowledge reports about the military balloons.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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