Military personnel guide local residents to take shelter during the Wanan Air Raid Drill, as part of the annual Han Kuang drill, on Taipei on July 25, 2022. AFP
罢础滨笔贰滨鈥�Taiwan kicked off its largest annual military exercises Monday, with trench warfare and shoulder-launched Stinger missiles deployed against simulated Chinese attacks in drills informed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Democratic Taiwan lives under constant threat of being seized by China, which views the self-ruled island as part of its territory to be taken by force if necessary.
Russia鈥檚 assault on Ukraine has heightened fears that Beijing might similarly follow through on threats to annex its much smaller and outgunned neighbor.
This year鈥檚 five-day 鈥淗an Kuang鈥� (Han Glory) war games have incorporated lessons from the ongoing European war, simulating 鈥渁ll possible actions鈥� China could take to invade Taiwan, according to the defense ministry.
On Monday, reservists armed with machine guns ran into sandbagged trenches dug under a bridge before getting into firing position, in a drill aimed at blocking enemies from gaining access to the capital Taipei.
鈥淭he underground bunkers help cover the troops and ward off the enemy鈥檚 strike forces,鈥� said Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taiwan鈥檚 Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
鈥淭hey are part of Ukraine鈥檚 urban warfare.鈥�
Stinger missiles, effective against helicopters and low-flying planes, were also deployed in some high-rise buildings in the area, he said.
The highly portable missiles have been invaluable to Ukrainian forces fighting off Russian air power.
Separately, the streets in several northern cities were empty for 30 minutes as part of a civilian air-raid drill, with pedestrians and cars banned after sirens and text-message alerts warned of mock missile attacks.
Beijing鈥檚 sabre-rattling has increased considerably since Taiwan鈥檚 President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, as she rejects its stance that the island is part of China.
Bill Burns, director of the United States鈥� Central Intelligence Agency, recently said China appeared determined to use force in Taiwan, with Russia鈥檚 experience in Ukraine affecting its calculations on when and how 鈥� not whether 鈥� to invade.
Last year, Taiwan recorded 969 incursions by Chinese warplanes into its air defense zone, according to a database compiled by AFP 鈥� more than double the roughly 380 in 2020.
The number of sorties has reached more than 600 so far this year.
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