‘No kowtowing to Beijing’: Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen promises to fortify defences

Name: Taiwan military drill simulates response to an attack across Taiwan Strait
Uploaded: 2020-07-16T10:30:12.000Z
Duration: 1 min 15 s
Description: Taiwan military drill simulates response to an attack across Taiwan Strait

Tsai tells troops taking part in military exercises that island must show its determination to safeguard itself

Two mainland Chinese spy vessels spotted near live-fire drill site, according to report

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Two armoured vehicles launch smoke grenades during the annual Han Kuang military drills on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Lawrence Chung

Published: 6:30pm, 16 Jul 2020Updated: 10:26pm, 16 Jul 2020

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen sought to rally troops taking part in the island’s biggest annual military exercises on Thursday, vowing not to bow to Beijing’s pressure and to step up the island’s defences.

“As I have said, national security rests on solid defence rather than kowtowing,” Tsai said, addressing forces in Jianan, Taichung, on the island’s central coast involved in the five-day Han Kuang exercises, which started on Monday.

Beijing, which considers Taiwan a wayward province that must be brought under its control by force if necessary, has stepped up pressure on Taiwan since Tsai was first elected president in 2016 and refused to accept the one-China principle.

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Taiwan military drill simulates response to an attack across Taiwan Strait

Dressed in fatigues, Tsai said the military had to stage the drill every year to assess the forces’ combat readiness, but “more important to let the world witness our determination and efforts to safeguard our own land”.

“Today, on Jianan beach, in addition to the live-fire drills simulating the three forces’ repulsion of the landing operation by the enemy, we have also examined the effectiveness of our combined arms battalions in war operations,” Tsai said.

The Jianan drill simulated repulsion of an enemy from the shore and included F-16 and Ching-kuo fighter jets targeting tanks crossing inland scrub. According to the defence ministry, some 8,000 personnel took part.

Tsai also stressed combat readiness a day earlier when she observed live-fire coastal drills involving the army, the navy and the air force at Jiupeng military base in the south.

On Wednesday, the third day of the exercises, the navy conducted its first torpedo test since 2007, with one of its attack submarines test-firing a SUT heavyweight torpedo at an enemy ship, the ministry said.