TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Kinmen Defense Command's Lieyu Garrison Battalion conducted the annual Taiwu exercise in Lieyu Township’s Donggang coastal area early Thursday morning (Sept. 19).
The live-fire exercise incorporated real battlefield conditions and aimed to enhance combat readiness, the command said. It also verified the defense capabilities of Taiwan’s outlying islands, CNA reported.
The Lieyu Garrison Battalion deployed its mechanized infantry company, equipped with armored vehicles and artillery to carry out six drills, including anti-landing and air defense.
The command emphasized that the participating units followed operational procedures and realistic battlefield conditions to carry out anti-landing operations. Precision strikes on target areas showcased the soldiers' intensive training, it said.
The exercise comes as China has ramped up gray zone tactics near Taiwan’s outlying islands. Since January, it has sent more fishing vessels and coast guard ships to the area, intruding into the nation’s maritime borders.
Chinese military drills in the region have also increased. At a press conference on Thursday, Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said it is becoming harder to predict when Beijing might transition from “training to a large exercise, and from a large exercise to war.”
China has combined gray zone tactics, joint sea and air training, and military exercises, to gauge its capability of striking Taiwan and resisting foreign intervention.
