Taiwan stages Chinese invasion war games with Ukraine in mind – Times of India

Taipei: Taiwan The U.S. began its largest-ever annual military exercise on Monday, deploying trench warfare and shoulder-launched Stinger missiles against simulated Chinese attacks in exercises informed by Russian aggression. Ukraine,
Democratic Taiwan remains in constant danger of being seized by China, which views the self-governing island as part of its territory to be taken by force if necessary.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has added to fears that Beijing may similarly follow through on threats to take over its small and closed neighbour.
Five days this year”han kuango,Han Glory) The war game includes lessons from the ongoing European war, simulating “all possible actions” China could take to invade Taiwan, according to Ministry of Defence,
On Monday, reservists armed with machine guns fled into sand-filled trenches dug under a bridge before coming into firing position, aiming to prevent enemies from reaching the capital Taipei.
“Underground bunkers help cover troops and ward off enemy strike forces,” said Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taiwan’s National Defense and Security Research Institute.
“They are part of Ukraine’s urban warfare.”
Stinger missiles, effective against helicopters and low-flying aircraft, have also been deployed in some tall buildings in the area, he said.
Highly portable missiles are invaluable to Ukrainian forces fighting Russian air power.
Separately, streets in several northern cities were empty for 30 minutes as part of a civilian air-raid drill, after sirens on pedestrians and cars were banned and text-message alerts of fake missile strikes. A warning was given.
Beijing’s saber-rattling has grown significantly since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, as she rejected the stance that the island is part of China.
Bill Burns, director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, recently said that China is determined to use force in Taiwan, with Russia’s experience in Ukraine affecting its calculations of when and how – to invade .
Last year, Taiwan recorded 969 incursions into its air defense sector by Chinese warplanes, according to a database compiled by AFP – more than double from about 380 in 2020.
So far this year, the number of sorties has reached more than 600.