TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's armed forces held a joint air defense drill on Thursday (Nov. 28) as China reportedly prepares for a third round of large-scale military exercises. 

The Air Force Command said that aircraft, naval vessels, and air defense missile systems were deployed from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Thursday for an “integrated air and missile defense exercise.” 

These quarterly drills, formerly known as the Lien Hsiang joint military exercise, involve the Air Force's three main fighter jets (IDF, Mirage 2000, F-16), C-130 transport aircraft, and ground-based air defense missile units, per Newtalk. The exercise simulates enemy attacks on key positions, with the three branches of the armed forces integrating air defense and cyber-electronic warfare capabilities.

Newtalk reported the exercise focused on verifying the airspace security of the 24-nautical-mile (44 km) contiguous zone in eastern Taiwan, the shortened "air raid alert line." The drill reportedly tested the ability of forces in Taiwan's east to respond to sorties of Shenyang J-15 fighter jets launched from Chinese aircraft carriers such as the Liaoning, which conducted exercises off Taiwan's east coast in October. 

Reuters on Wednesday cited a Taiwan security official as saying that China will use President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) coming tour of South Pacific allies as a pretext to launch the Joint Sword-2024C exercise near Taiwan.