The Taiwanese military is conducting a live-fire drill in the central city of Taichung on Thursday, as part of a major military exercise in the context of mounting tensions with China in the strait and in the South China Sea.
President Tsai Ing-wen was expected to witness the drill, which is based on the scene of an invasion by the Chinese army. The five-day war games will end on Friday.
Han Kuang’s annual military exercise was postponed from earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, Taiwan has successfully contained the spread of the disease and has declared that the island’s virus is free.
On Wednesday, a live torpedo was fired from a Taiwan Navy submarine, the first time in 13 years that such weapons were deployed during the annual exercise.
The Central News Agency (CNA), backed by the state of Taiwan, reported that the “heavyweight” surface and the underwater target torpedo were fired from an electric submarine and hit their target.
|
The United States rejects China’s claims in the South China Sea provoking anger from Beijing |
The last time a Taiwan Navy submarine fired a live torpedo during the annual military exercises was in 2007.
The annual exercises, involving all branches of the Taiwanese military and reserve forces, have been held since the early 1980s to assess combat readiness for Taiwan in the event of an attack by China.
‘Frequent forays’
During Wednesday’s exercises, the military reported that two Chinese reconnaissance ships were seen off the east coast of Taiwan, according to the CNA.
The report says a Taiwan Navy warship was immediately dispatched “to monitor and deter” the two ships, which “eventually sailed.”
The annual exercise comes as Taiwan has accused Chinese military aircraft of “frequent incursions” into the island’s air defense zone in recent months.
In April, a Chinese naval flotilla led by the country’s first aircraft carrier passed near Taiwan.
China claims the democratic island as its own territory, and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under the control of Beijing. Taiwan has shown no interest in being led by China.
In May, Beijing threatened to “resolutely crush” Taiwan in the event of any independence movement.
|
Chinese navy to conduct live-fire exercises in Taiwan Strait |
Taiwan’s army is well-trained and well-equipped, primarily with weapons made in the US, and President Tsai has made boosting the island’s defenses a priority since he took office in 2016. She was reelected by a collapsed in January.
However, Taiwan faces an increasingly formidable and much larger Chinese army, which has undergone its own modernization program, adding stealth fighters, aircraft carriers, and anti-satellite missiles.
The exercises are also being held at a time of mounting tensions between China and the United States in the South China Sea.
Currently, the United States has two warships, the USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan, which sail in regional waters in dispute for freedom of navigation operations.
On Monday, the United States announced that it rejected China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, getting an angry response from Beijing, which said Washington was trying to inflame tensions in the disputed waters.
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the world “will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire.”
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
