Taiwan starts military exercises days after Chinese aircraft carrier sails by

TAIPEI, Nov 20, 2019, Taiwan News. The military launched a new series of exercises Tuesday (November 19), just two days after China sent its first domestically built aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan News reported.

The north-to-south passage of the Type 002 carrier was widely seen as another attempt by the communist regime to influence the January 11, 2020 presidential and legislative elections on the island.

The drills, named “Lien Hsiang” (聯翔), were directed against an air attack and would involve F-16 fighter jets from a base in Hualien County pretending to be enemy aircraft, the Ministry of National Defense said.

Army, Navy, Air Force and missile units would cooperate in testing their joined response to the simulated attack, according to a report by the Central News Agency.

Chief of the General Staff Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴), who hails from the Air Force, represented President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the special command center to oversee the developments in Tuesday’s military drills, according to the CNA.