Taiwan stages F-16 Fighter Jets' drill to show combat readiness amid tensions with China

Taiwan’s air force on Wednesday conducted military drills in a bid to show combat readiness amid heightened tensions with China. According to a social media post, the flights were part of a three-day training event to demonstrate Taiwan’s battle readiness before the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January. Flight crews at a base in Chiayi, which houses US-made F-16 fighter jets​, scrambled to prepare the aircraft as alarms sounded. 

It is to mention that China has repeatedly violated Taiwan’s airspace over the past several years. On Tuesday, a day before the military drill, Taiwan even reported an incursion by Chinese warplanes as seven military aircraft of the People Liberation Army (PLA) entered the self-ruled island’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ). In response, Taiwan informed that it sent aircraft, broadcast radio warnings, and deployed air defence missile systems to track the PLAAF planes. 

China-Taiwan tensions  

According to reports, since September last year, China has increased its use of grey zone tactics by sending aircraft into Taiwan’s ADIZ. Experts believe that the number of flights is also expected to increase further as tensions rise over major political events on two sides of the Taiwan Strait in 2022. Notably, China considers the self-governed island a rebel province and part of its territory. Beijing has repeatedly called for unification and has even not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control. 

Taiwan, on the other hand, considers China’s military incursions “grey zone” warfare that is designed to exhaust its forces by keeping them on edge and to test the military’s responsiveness. Taiwan has countered Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with countries including the United States, which has repeatedly opposed China. But Beijing has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war. While China demands Taiwan recognise the one-China principle, Taipei continues to see itself as a democratically-governed independent country, although it never formally declared independence from China. 

(Image: AP/Twitter)