Taipei shows off its best military jets on Wednesday as China carries out huge drills encircling Taiwan
Taiwan has lived under constant threat of an invasion from China, which claims the democratically ruled island as a part of its territory, and threatens to seize it by force if necessary.
Taipei displayed its most advanced fighter jets on Wednesday including its most advanced fighter jet, the missile-equipped F-16V, in a nighttime demonstration.
This move by Taiwan comes in the wake of actions taken by Beijing, which carried out multiple air and sea drills in the country strait this month.
China saw the visit of Nancy Pelosi, the US House speaker, and a congressional delegation as an opportunity to stage its drills after a warning from the US.
Taiwan is in action!
This led Taipei to carry out its drills this Wednesday at an air base in eastern Hualien County, to get into motion if China invades.
Taipei demonstrated its F-16Vs fighter jets, including Boeing Co’s harpoon anti-ship missiles.
While Taipei has been condemning China’s actions in past, this was an apt situation for Taiwan’s forces to showcase their skills as said by Sun Li-Fang, the defense ministry spokesperson.
“We will seize this opportunity to test all the training we normally do, and through this improve our current methods and raise our combat effectiveness,” he said.
Taiwan has been upgrading its fighter jets and ordnances as Beijing’s rampant actions such as its incursions into the island’s air defense zones calls for preparedness.
This move by China has become more common after Beijing declared that the unofficial border exists no longer.
China has even crossed the median line, as Taiwan reported 49 incursions on Wednesday and Thursday, out of which 44 involved crossing the median line.
Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (AIDZ) is not the same as its territorial airspace, with overlapping of its greater area with China’s own AIDZ and even some of the mainland.
It was in November that Taipei deployed its first squadron of US-made F-16Vs, its deal was approved at the time of trumps administration, but his successor Joe Biden continues to maintain similar support for Taiwan.
