Taiwan held live-fire drills Wednesday on two of its islands not far from mainland China, part of a series of exercises to be held to boost combat readiness.<\/P>
Media sources said more military drills are being planned this month by the Taiwanese military, including at the Pratas islands (also known as Dongsha) in the South China Sea.<\/P>
According to the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense, live-fire drills took place at dawn in Dongyin and Penghu \u2013 two of Taiwan\u2019s outlying islets very close to mainland China.<\/P>
Dongyin is part of the Matsu archipelago, 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of China\u2019s Fujian province. It is about 185 kilometers (115 miles) northwest of Taiwan mainland.<\/P>
The Matsu islands have been under Taiwan\u2019s control since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.<\/P>
Dongyin is Taiwan\u2019s northernmost point and the \u201cmost strategically important outlying island,\u201d according to Sheu Jyh-Shyang, a military expert at the Taiwan’s Institute for National Defence and Security Research.<\/P>
The island, despite being open to tourists, is heavily fortified with cruise missiles including Taiwan\u2019s homegrown Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and Sky Bow II surface-to-air anti-ballistic missiles.<\/P>
It is also important for reconnaissance as \u201cit is close enough to China to detect aircraft and vessels,\u201d said Sheu.<\/P>
Dongyin is also vulnerable to attacks both from the west and the south due to its proximity to China. It was in fact often shelled by China during the late 1970s.<\/P>
The Taiwanese defense ministry confirmed that on Feb. 5 a Chinese Y-12 light twin-engine civilian aircraft flew closely to Dongyin but did not enter Taiwan\u2019s air space.<\/P>
\u2018Loyalty exercise\u2019<\/P>
Ian Easton, senior director at the Project 2049 Institute, a U.S. think-tank, said at that time that the flyby was \u201cclassic political warfare.\u201d<\/P>
\u201cChinese authorities sent a civilian aircraft over one of the most dangerous and heavily fortified islands on the planet,\u201d Easton wrote on Twitter.<\/P>
\u201cIf Taiwan shoots, it provokes an armed response. If Taiwan shows restraint (which it did), it looks and feels weak.\u201d<\/P>
The Dongyin live-fire drills, named \u201cLoyalty exercise,\u201d took place amid concerns about China\u2019s possible opportunistic moves in the region as the Ukrainian war is raging.<\/P>
On March 10, Taiwan\u2019s Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-Cheng warned the legislature\u2019s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee that \u201cthere are similarities between the situation in Ukraine and Taiwan.\u201d<\/P>
Chiu, however, was quoted as saying that Taiwan has \u201ca geographic advantage, as the Taiwan Strait is a maritime barrier that is risky to cross.\u201d<\/P>
According to Taiwan\u2019s military, the drills on Dongyin included both anti-aircraft and anti-ship exercises.<\/P>
Another live-fire exercise took place early Wednesday morning on Penghu island in the Taiwan Strait. Penghu is 181 kilometers (112 miles) from Xiamen, China. The drills focused on artillery with cannons and M60A3 Chariot tanks.<\/P>
The Taiwanese coastguard was quoted by the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post as saying that it would stage \u201cannual live-fire drills on March 26 and 31\u201d on Pratas island.<\/P>
The Taiwanese defense ministry when asked by RFA did not confirm the event.<\/P>
The Pratas island is located in the northern part of the South China Sea and is the largest of the South China Sea islands. It is claimed by both Taiwan and the People\u2019s Republic of China, but has been under Taiwan\u2019s control since 1946.<\/P>
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Source: Radio Free Asia<\/P>
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Taiwan held live-fire drills Wednesday on two of its islands not far from mainland China, part of a series of exercises to be held to boost combat readiness.Media sources said more military drills are being planned this month by the Taiwanese military,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n