Overview
- On Thursday at Kaohsiung’s Zuoying naval base, forces rehearsed stopping a seaborne attack using shore-launched Hsiung Feng anti-ship missiles, reconnaissance and attack drones, missile-armed fast boats and Marine snipers.
- A Marine Corps officer said the coordinated near-shore mission built a kill chain for joint interceptions and demonstrated multi-layered, multi-wave defensive effects from sea to land.
- Earlier in the week at Taichung’s Xinshe base, troops ran integrated land–air drills featuring HIMARS and the Land Sword II, simulated intercepts with Hsiung Feng II launchers, and a scenario to provide long-range support to the Penghu Islands.
- Taiwan’s air force conducted emergency F-16 scrambles to demonstrate around-the-clock readiness for incursions or crossings of the Taiwan Strait’s median line.
- Taiwan reported four PLA aircraft, five PLAN vessels and a transiting balloon in the latest 24-hour period, as China reiterated that Taiwan is an internal matter and that all options remain on the table.