Taiwan drills military as concerns over China grow

JIADONG, TAIWAN — The F-16 screeched across the sky Wednesday before landing on a highway cut through pineapple fields in southwestern Taiwan to refuel quickly and take off again.

The Taiwanese military exercise envisioned a Chinese attack taking out the island’s main airfields, necessitating the use of rural roads as runways to carry on the fight. War is not imminent, but as China has grown increasingly assertive in both the East China and South China Seas, Taiwan is stepping up its defence. Across the region, the United States and its allies are deepening military cooperation and strategizing.

China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, flies fighter jets toward Taiwan on a regular basis in an effort to warn and intimidate the island’s air force. Last month, Chinese fighter jets, anti-submarine aircraft and combat ships conducted joint assault drills near Taiwan with China saying the exercise was necessary to safeguard its sovereignty.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a meeting next week with key regional players that form the so-called “Quad” — India, Australia and Japan together with the U.S. — for in-person talks the White House said are meant to show the administration’s commitment to “promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian slammed the U.S. for “forming exclusive cliques” after the meeting was announced and countered that China was a “firm defender of regional peace and stability.”