Holding Military Exercise To Anticipate Chinese Aggression, Taiwan: Our Pilots Are Experienced With Their Aircraft

JAKARTA - The roar of Taiwan's air force jets ripped through the country's skies in a simulated war scenario, demonstrating combat readiness amid rising military tensions with China, which claims the island as its own.

Before takeoff, flight crews at a base in the southern city of Chiayi, home to US-made F-16 fighter jets that are often deployed to intercept Chinese warplanes, rushed to planes that were ready when the alarm sounded.

The activity is part of a three-day drill to demonstrate Taiwan's military combat readiness ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of this month.

Tensions in the sensitive Taiwan Strait have risen in recent years, with Taiwan complaining of repeated missions by China's air force near the democratic island.

Chinese military aircraft frequently fly into the southwest part of the air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the airspace around the island that Taiwan monitors and patrols.

"With the extremely high frequency of Communist aircraft entering our ADIZ, the pilots of our wing are very experienced and have handled almost all types of their aircraft," Major Yen Hsiang-sheng told reporters, recalling the mission in which he was sent to intercept. January.

China's J-16 fighter late last year. China has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control.

Taiwan has dubbed China's activities a "grey zone" war, designed to weaken Taiwan's power by making them repeatedly scramble, and also to test its response.

In a New Year's message to China last week, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said military conflict was not the answer. Meanwhile, Beijing responded with a stern warning that if Taiwan crossed any red line, it would lead to a 'major catastrophe'.