Taiwan Air Force holds drills to scramble to intercept enemy forces

Taiwan on Wednesday continued three days of military drills as concerns rose over potential cuts to the defense budget due to legislative wrangling between the island’s two major political parties. Taiwan’s Air Force conducted a drill in central Taiwan during which ground personnel serviced Taiwan-made fighter jets with fighter jet pilots could scramble to intercept trespassing enemy forces. Nien Hsiao-teh, an Air Force Major and instructor stationed at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in the central Taiwan said: “Our closest Air Force bases closest to the other shore are Hsinchu and Taichung. Once we take off from these places, we only need one to 2 minutes to arrive the positions.” Ground staff is also deployed a set of PAC-3 air defense system in a demonstration as part of the armed forces’ readiness to meet defense needs. On Thursday, anti-submarine exercises will be held off of Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung, considered China’s best conduit for resupplying its troops should it establish a beachhead in the heavily defended region.