Taiwan’s armed forces began the live-fire portion of the country’s biggest military drills on Monday. The annual Han Kuang Exercise is designed to simulate Taiwan’s defense forces repelling an attack from China.
The first day of the exercise focuses on protecting Taiwan’s weaponry from Chinese bombardment so Taiwan’s military can put up an effective defense of the island. The air force, navy and missile command practiced shifting fighter jets, warships and operations bases from the west of the country to the east.
According to the military, Monday morning’s exercises simulated what would happen if Chinese missile strikes took out western Taiwan’s bases.
In the following days of the exercise, forces posted on Taiwan’s eastern coast will begin training exercises for mounting counterattacks.
The live-fire drills will continue through to Friday.