TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan launched a five-day series of military exercises on Monday, designed to sharpen the island’s combat readiness in the event of an attack by China.
In Taoyuan — the city that houses Taiwan’s largest international airport — tanks rolled through city streets and highways as armored vehicles from the Army’s 269th Infantry Brigade carried out combat readiness patrols Monday morning. Videos and photos captured the striking scenes of military hardware moving through civilian areas.
The exercises, known as the Immediate Combat Readiness Exercises, are intended to measure how quickly military units can be deployed, particularly in response to a sudden increase in Chinese grey-zone warfare. Grey-zone tactics are aggressive actions — ranging from naval ship patrols to drone flights — that stop short of outright combat.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense announced the drills on Sunday afternoon, describing them as realistic in nature, with a focus on what it called “real-time, live-fire and on-site” conditions.
According to Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency, the exercises are structured to simulate the period just before an enemy force would launch its naval vessels. Officials noted that unplanned drills could also be added going forward, including live responses to Chinese military activity.
Taiwan’s defense ministry reported that China’s People’s Liberation Army sent 23 aircraft toward the island between Sunday and Monday morning, along with seven navy ships and five additional Chinese government vessels. China routinely dispatches warplanes, drones, and naval ships toward Taiwan on a daily basis.
Taiwan holds combat readiness exercises on a regular basis as it works to strengthen its defenses against persistent military pressure from China. Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and has not taken the option of using military force off the table. Earlier this June, Taiwan fired rockets in the direction of China for the first time during a military exercise.
