Taiwan on Wednesday displayed its most advanced fighter, a US-made F-16V warplane equipped with missiles, during a rare night flight that followed unprecedented military exercises conducted by China off the coast of the island.
And this August, Beijing carried out, for several days, air and naval maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait, coinciding with a visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which was followed by another visit by a delegation from the US Congress.
In response to the Chinese maneuvers, Taiwan held maneuvers in which it simulated how to respond to a possible Chinese invasion.
And on Wednesday evening, elements of the Taiwan Air Force at a base in Hualien County (east) loaded US-made AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles under the wings of an F-16-V fighter - an upgraded and more complex version of the F-fighters. 16 dating back to the '90s.
As part of this exercise on "combat readiness", six F-16-V aircraft, including two armed with missiles, took off from the air base at night, on a night reconnaissance mission, according to the Taiwan Air Force.
"In the face of the threat posed by the recent military exercises conducted by the Chinese Communist forces, we have remained vigilant while at the same time establishing the concept of battlefields anywhere and training at any time (...) to ensure the country's national security," the Air Force said in a statement.
Chinese exercises
In a related context, the Chinese Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the army will conduct military exercises in Russia, with the participation of India, Belarus and other countries.
The ministry added that China will participate in this training to enhance cooperation with the armies of these countries, according to the "Bloomberg" news agency on Wednesday.
The ministry said it had nothing to do with China's participation in the current regional and international situation.
China conducted military exercises in the vicinity of Taiwan, and its planes violated Taiwan's airspace in conjunction with Pelosi's (European) visit
The leadership of the People's Liberation Army's "Eastern Theater" last week completed its military training missions near Taiwan and will conduct regular patrols in the region, the regional military command center said in a statement.
Taiwan said the Chinese exercises showed preparations for a possible invasion.
Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by China, which claims sovereignty over the island.
Taiwan is self-governing, but China considers it an integral part of its territory and asserts that the island will return to its sovereignty one day, and by force if necessary.
Taipei has accused Beijing of using the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the most senior-elected US official to visit the island in decades, as a pretext for maneuvers simulating an invasion of its territory.
In recent years, Taiwan has modernized its aging air fleet.
In November, the Taiwan Air Force deployed its first squadron of F-16-V fighters, which the administration of former US President Donald Trump had agreed to deliver to Taipei.