Taiwan fights a ‘Chinese invasion’ in a five day live-fire drill
Image Credit: Tyrone Slu/Reuters
Taiwanese soldiers have used jets, tanks and ships in the biggest live-fire war drill of the year. The soldiers had to fight off a simulated coastal invasion by Chinese troops. This comes in an ever escalating tension in an escalating tension between China and United States over the South China sea. Last Monday, the US announced that it rejected China’s maritime claims of the South China sea angering China. Read more about it here:
https://whatnownews24.com/2020/07/14/us-declares-maritime-claims-in-south-china-sea-illegal/
China considers Taiwan as its own territory, and has repeatedly entered Taiwan’s air defence zone with its military aircraft. Last April, a Chinese naval flotilla led by their aircraft carrier passed very close to Taiwan in a show of force. Taiwan has shown repeatedly that they do not want to be run by China and last May, China threatened Taiwan that any moves for independence will be immediately crushed.
President Tsai Ing-Wen witnessed the fire drill, which will end on Friday. Approximately 8000 soldiers will be involved in the operation of repelling the enemy from landing on a beach in the central city of Taichug.
The President said in a Tweet that the Taiwan has, ‘ demonstrated to the world our robust defense capabilities and strong determination to defend Taiwan.’
On Wednesday Taiwan Central News Agency (CNA) reported that a Taiwan Navy Submarine fired a live torpedo for the first time in 13 years.
The annual live fire exercises are usually done earlier but due to the coronavirus pandemic the fire drill was postponed. Since then, Taiwan managed to control the spread of the virus, and is essentially virus-free according to the Taiwanese government.
Taiwan’s military is highly advanced and well trained, with most of its weapons bought from the US, but it can never match the far larger Chinese military. In the last several years China’s military has started a modernization programme where it added aircraft carriers, stealth fighter jets and anti-satellite missiles.
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