TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Military Police sent Clouded Leopard armored vehicles rolling through the streets of Taipei City early Tuesday (Sept. 14) morning, simulating the defense of a telecommunication center against a Chinese attack.

The unusual sight formed part of a range of drills on the second day of the nationwide Han Kuang 37 exercises, CNA reported. Around the same time, near the east coast, tanks and armored vehicles moved to protect a military airport near Hualien City. One of the key features of the annual maneuvers was to have aircraft and ships leave their airports and harbors as quickly as possible to find safety on the east coast.

The drills in the Taipei neighborhood of Shipai were based on the premise that the enemy would attack a Chunghwa Telecom center in order to paralyze telephone communications around the capital. Defense officials said that during a war, the enemy would not only seek to destroy airports and bridges but also try and disrupt telecommunications to make resistance to the invasion more difficult.

A number of Taiwanese-made eight-wheel Clouded Leopard vehicles moved in from a Military Police base in the Dazhi area between midnight and 1 a.m. Tuesday. Police were on hand at the early hour to direct the flow of traffic at intersections, CNA reported.