Taiwan holds anti-invasion drill as China threat heightens
The HinduAn F-16 screeched across the sky, then landed among pineapple fields in southwestern Taiwan to quickly refuel before taking off again. The simulation is part of Taiwan's five-day Han Guang military exercise designed to prepare the island's forces for an attack by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory. In the last two years, the threat from China has risen, as the People's Liberation Army flies fighter jets towards Taiwan on a near-daily basis in an effort to intimidate and harass the island's air forces. In August, Chinese fighter jets, anti-submarine aircraft and combat ships conducted joint assault drills near Taiwan, with China saying the exercise was necessary to safeguard its sovereignty. China has said its actions are in response to interference from abroad, with U.S. support for Taiwan rising in recent years and the U.S. military conducting movements in the sensitive waters surrounding Taiwan.