Taiwan and Mainland China held a joint search and rescue exercise on Thursday.
Thirty-three ships, four helicopters, and 550 people from both sides participated in the exercises, which took place near the Taiwan-controlled island of Matsu. The exercises simulated a search and rescue mission, using a scenario modeled on the Sewol ferry disaster in South Korea earlier in the year.
Taiwan’s coast guard says that in the future, joint exercises like this one will be held every two years, with the two sides taking turns in leading the operations.