▲ Taiwanese warships monitoring Chinese destroyers


At a time when China has been conducting a large-scale military exercise in the nature of the Taiwanese armed forces unification exercise since the 4th, Taiwan has announced a large-scale artillery fire drill, sending a message that it will not succumb to the Chinese threat.



Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that the Taiwanese army has decided to conduct a large-scale artillery fire drill using 78 155mm howitzers and 6 120mm mortars near Pingtung County in southern Pingtung County from the 9th to the 11th.



It is evaluated that Taiwan was trying to send a message that it would not shrink from China's military pressure by conducting large-scale live-fire drills while avoiding escalating military tensions by avoiding large-scale military exercises and timing of the Chinese military.



Artillery forces such as howitzers and mortar units play a key role in preventing the People's Liberation Army from invading Taiwan in case of emergency.



Separately, from the 5th of next month, the Taiwanese Army plans to conduct joint live-fire drills in the air and on the ground using Apache and Cobra helicopters, tanks, and armored vehicles.



The Taiwanese side, which had refrained from responding as much as possible to prevent further escalation of tensions, has also launched a psychological warfare response, such as releasing a photo of a surface-to-ship missile unit aimed at the Chinese military.



Enlarging an image


The Taiwanese Army released photos of the Navy's Sheungfeng-2 surface-to-ship missile unit, which is on 24-hour vigilance in response to the Chinese military's armed protests today (7th).



The Xiongfeng-2 missile, with a range of up to 1,200 km, is one of Taiwan's key asymmetric forces.



In this regard, the Taiwanese military's unveiling of the Xiongfeng-2 missile unit can be evaluated as a demonstration of its ability to launch a retaliatory action by launching missiles into the interior of mainland China if China truly invades.



Military tensions between China and Taiwan have risen to the highest level in more than 20 years since the Taiwan Strait Missile Crisis between 1995 and 1996 as China conducts threatening military exercises on an unprecedented scale.



(Photo=Taiwan Ministry of National Defense website, Yonhap News)