Taiwan conducted extensive civil defense drills Thursday in its southwestern coastal city of Tainan to bolster readiness against large-scale disasters and potential attacks on critical infrastructure, amid rising tensions with China.
The drills, held in the southwestern coastal city of Tainan, were inspected by regional leader William Lai Ching-te.
"Today in Tainan, we conducted large-scale emergency drills on disaster evacuation & medical response capabilities, testing & honing #Taiwan's ability to respond swiftly to crises & ensure our people's safety," Lai said on X.
The exercise, dubbed "whole-of-society defense resilience," aims to test the island's ability to respond to emergencies and prepare the public for crises such as military conflict and natural disasters. This comes amid escalating geopolitical tensions between China and the self-governing island.
A day earlier, Lai urged the military to enhance combat resilience and stated that Taiwan's armed forces must employ asymmetric warfare tactics "in the face of the convergence of authoritarian forces" and "the growing gray-zone intrusions" from China.
Separately, a tank landing ship of Taiwan's navy collided with a Chinese fishing boat off central Taiwan early Thursday. No injuries were reported.
According to the Taiwanese Navy, the Chung Ho-class tank landing ship collided with the Chinese-registered boat about 45 nautical miles off the Port of Taichung.
While the Taiwanese navy reported some damage to the vessel, it did not specify the nature of the damage but emphasized that the collision "did not compromise its navigational safety."
The Taiwan Coast Guard Administration dispatched two patrol vessels to the scene, and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry also reported that China's People's Liberation Army conducted 28 aircraft sorties around the island, with 20 of them crossing the median line and entering Taiwan's air defense identification zone.
China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province, does not recognize the median line or Taiwan's air defense zone. Taiwan has insisted on its independence since 1949.
