Taiwan's military conducted live-fire drills and simulated repelling a Chinese air landing assault on the strategically vital Penghu Islands on Monday, 10 August during annual war games.
Troops from the First Theatre Command opened fire in the pre-dawn hours on a beach in Penghu, which sits in the Taiwan Strait, with M60A3 tanks, various artillery pieces and anti-aircraft guns.
The troops were combining to form what the military called a "multi-layered" defence against a simulated enemy attempting a rapid coastal landing.
The 10-day Han Kuang exercise kicked off last week, rehearsing various scenarios should China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, ever make good on threats to try to seize the island by force.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's cabinet will propose a 16 per cent annual rise in defence spending for 2027, which will for the first time exceed one trillion Taiwan dollars ($31 billion), the official Central News Agency reported on Sunday, as Taipei bolsters its military.
The move will come as China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past few years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.
But Taiwan also faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defence, mirroring pressure from the United States on Europe, something President Lai Ching-te has enthusiastically embraced.
The proposed budget of more than T$1.1 trillion, to be unveiled on August 20, includes funding for the coast guard, veterans and special projects, and will - like this year - exceed 3% of gross domestic product, the Central News Agency said.
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