Taiwan’s military conducted a coastal exercise on Tuesday simulating the destruction of an invading Chinese force, officials said.
The drill involved firing rockets and artillery to repel an amphibious assault, described by officials as a more realistic combat scenario with significantly less preparation time than previous exercises.
China asserts sovereignty over Taiwan and doesn’t rule out the use of force to reunify it with the mainland. Chinese warplanes and warships maintain an almost daily presence around the island. Taiwan’s west coast, with its beaches and mud flats directly facing China across the Taiwan Strait, is widely considered the most probable landing site for any attempted Chinese military invasion.
The exercise unfolded simultaneously across eight positions along a 20 km stretch of coastline near Taichung in central Taiwan. This forms part of the island’s broader strategy to modernise its armed forces, incorporating new, more mobile weaponry, and adopting less predictable training methods designed to mirror actual combat conditions.
Artillery commander Ong Yih-ming highlighted the shift in approach. “What is different about this training compared with the past is that we are no longer conducting heavy artillery firing in a fixed, routine formation as before,” he said. “The timing for entering positions this time was based on realistic combat conditions. So I believe this training posed a considerable level of difficulty for our troops.”
Rocket commander Liao Neng-cheng elaborated on the reduced preparation for the simulation. “What was different this time compared with the past was that previously, we would usually enter the position one week in advance and complete firing preparations,” he said.
“This time, however, we arrived at the position only one day before and carried out the relevant position preparations. So our preparation time was relatively tight.”
The drill deployed domestically developed Thunderbolt-2000 rocket systems, American-made Paladin howitzers, anti-tank missiles, artillery, and mortars to establish a “kill zone” against an amphibious attack. Notably, this marked the first time in seven years that the Thunderbolt-2000, known for its long-range suppression and high mobility, had conducted live-fire shooting in an operational area.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and asserts that the island’s people alone must determine their future.
