Taiwan conducts military exercises similar to combat operations amid threat from China
Taiwan conducts military exercises (photo: Getty Images)
Taiwan will begin its annual five-day military drills in late July. This year, however, these exercises will be closer to real combat operations to prepare the Taiwanese army for threats from China, reports Reuters.
A senior Taiwanese official told Reuters that the exercises will not be a "show" as they used to be, but will be as close to real combat as possible.
"In recent years, the enemy threat has changed rapidly. Our defense combat plan must also be continuously revised on a rolling basis, and the urgency of comprehensive combat training is becoming more and more important," he said.
One of the unusual elements of the exercise for the Taiwanese army will be night training. Also, according to the Taiwanese official, the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, will be in the exercise area.
China wants to take over Taiwan
In the 40s of the last century, the leader of the Chinese ruling Kuomintang party and his supporters fled to the island of Taiwan after the defeat of the Communists in the civil war, where he created a Chinese government in exile. Since then, Taiwan has become a de facto independent country, although it has also claimed the territory of mainland China, where the Communist People's Republic of China was formed.
Today, Chinese President Xi Jinping is already dreaming of "reunification" with Taiwan. And the more Taiwan moves away from China and toward the West, the more aggressive China's rhetoric and behavior becomes.
Recently, China conducted military exercises around Taiwan, effectively surrounding the island. As Beijing explained, these exercises were "a severe punishment for separatism."
According to Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, China considers the "elimination" of Taiwan's independence its great national cause.
