New Delhi: Taiwan has launched a five-day combat readiness drill designed to test how quickly its armed forces can respond to a sudden military threat. This comes at a time when concerns grow over China’s military activities around Taiwan. The exercise, called the “Immediate Combat Readiness Exercise”, began on Monday and will continue through Friday as part of Taiwan’s annual military training programme.

According to Taiwan’s Defence Ministry, the drills are intended to familiarise troops with battlefield conditions during the crucial deployment phase and strengthen their ability to transition rapidly from peacetime operations to wartime readiness. Unlike traditional military parades or scripted exercises, the training will involve actual troops operating on real terrain and using operational equipment in real-time scenarios.

Taiwan has increasingly restructured its military exercises to reflect the possibility that China could transform one of its routine military manoeuvres around the island into an actual attack with little warning. Officials say the new approach focuses on command coordination, logistics, battlefield preparation and joint operations among different branches of the military.

The announcement came as Taiwan reported another large-scale Chinese military operation near the island. Taipei said 21 Chinese aircraft, including J-16 fighter jets, KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft and Y-20 aerial refuelling planes, had been detected operating near Taiwan, with several flying into airspace southwest of the island before moving into the Western Pacific for long-range training. Taiwan said it monitored the activity and deployed its own forces in response.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says Chinese military operations are intended to pressure the island politically and militarily. Recent months have seen a rise in Chinese “combat readiness patrols” and large-scale exercises around Taiwan, prompting Taipei to modernise its forces and make training more combat-oriented.

Earlier this month, Taiwan also conducted a coastal exercise simulating the destruction of an invading force and tested its U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket systems. The island’s major annual Han Kuang military exercises, which focus on defending against a potential Chinese invasion, are expected to take place later this year.