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Taiwan to hold island-wide air raid drills simulating PLA attacks
- Annual event will run from July 25 to 28 and will test sirens and include emergency rescue and evacuation exercises
- It comes after a PLA missile frigate reportedly sailed close to Hualien on Sunday, the latest move in Beijing’s pressure campaign
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Taiwan will stage island-wide drills simulating missile and warplane attacks by the People’s Liberation Army, as tensions soar across the strait.
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The annual Wan An exercise comes after a PLA missile frigate reportedly sailed close to Taiwan’s eastern coast on Sunday.
It was the latest move in a pressure campaign against the self-ruled island that includes PLA warplanes regularly entering Taiwan’s air defence identification zone. Beijing sees the island as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of it.
The air raid drills will be held from July 25 to 28 and will coincide with the annual Han Kuang military exercises that also simulate attacks from mainland China, according to Taiwan’s defence ministry.
“They will be held in seven areas, including the northern, central, southern and eastern parts of Taiwan proper and Pescadores [Penghu], Quemoy and Matsu of the offshore islands,” said Chu Sen-tsuen, personnel director at the ministry’s All-Out Defence Mobilisation Agency.
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Taiwan’s offshore islands – especially Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, and Matsu which are close to the mainland Chinese coast – are expected to be key targets in the event of a PLA attack.
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