Taiwan war games simulate China invasion

PENGHU’ERCUN (Taiwan): Taiwan forces simulated an invasion by China yesterday as part of livefire war games against a backdrop of rising tensions with Beijing.

The annual drills are Taiwan’s biggest military exercise and mocked up a scenario in which Chinese troops launched an amphibious assault.

They took place on the outlying Penghu Islands, which sit in the strait that separates Taiwan from China.

The Defence Ministry has warned of a rising military threat from China, which sees self-ruling Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified.

Taiwan’s military is boosting its firepower to counter the risk, including launching its first-ever home-grown submarine project and building a new generation of jet trainers.

President Tsai Ing-wen presided over the drills and emphasised the importance of building up Taiwan’s indigenous defence industry.

“When Taiwan shows its determination to take the road of defensive autonomy, it is putting on a display to the world of our determination to protect our home and land,” she said at a military base in Penghu.

Yesterday’s war games were part of an annual week-long exercise called Han Kuang (Han Glory) aimed at measuring how effectively Taiwan forces could deal with a China attack. AFP