Several Taiwanese fighter jets and a warning plane trained to take off and land on a highway in southern Taiwan on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. This annual five-day exercise aims to simulate the island's defense against a invasion of China.
Taiwanese democracy lives under the constant threat of an invasion by Beijing, which claims the island as part of its territory and has vowed to capture it one day, by force if necessary. Military tensions reached their highest level, and intensified under Xi Jinping's presidency. China regularly sends nuclear-capable fighter jets and bombers to Taiwan's air defense zone. Chinese jets and bombers carried out a record 380 incursions into the area last year. A record broken this year with already 400 incursions in September 2021.
The exercise, which President Tsai Ing-wen attended, is supposed to hone the skills of Taiwanese pilots if the island's airstrips are wiped out. "These excellent combat skills, these precise and rapid movements are the result of rigorous training and demonstrate the confidence of the Air Force in the protection of our airspace," she said in a message. posted on his Facebook. The exercise took place on one of five highways whose long stretches were deliberately constructed to allow planes to land.