Four F-16s carried out a military exercise overnight near Hualien on Wednesday, test-firing several AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles.
In the past, this kind of exercise was held at dawn or in daylight hours. Wednesday's drill was the first time that exercises have been conducted under full cover of darkness.
Many locals were woken up by the sound of explosions.
As part of the test, ground crew also participated in a simulated combat situation.
The Ministry of National Defence (MND) said yesterday the overnight exercise were merely part of routine training.
“I am not aware of the details of this exercise activity so I am not able to confirm it or make any comments on it,” said Rear Admiral Wu Chi-fang (吳季方), an MND spokesman. “But yes it appears the air force did conduct such an activity and the event was witnessed by several observers.”
The spokesman mentioned that the air force, the navy and the army had recently conducted a series of “snap exercises” simulating various combat situations.
In July, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) told military personnel to regard the “snap exercises” as real combat situations, and warned that live ammunition would be used during the events.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS