By Ben Blanchard and Ann Wang
HUALIEN, Taiwan (Reuters) – Taiwan President Lai Ching-te thanked fighter pilots who had scrambled towards China final week throughout its struggle video games across the island, as he was briefed on the occasions at a frontline air base on Tuesday.
China, which claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its personal territory, began two days of drills final Thursday in what it known as “punishment” for Lai’s inauguration speech that week. Taiwan condemned the workouts.
China says Lai is a “separatist” and has by no means renounced the usage of power to carry Taiwan below its management. Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying solely the island’s folks can resolve their future, and has repeatedly supplied talks.
Visiting the east coast air base of Hualien, which is house to Taiwan’s most superior fighter jets, the F-16Vs, Lai had lunch with a few of the pilots who scrambled throughout the drills.
“I want to thank all brothers and sisters for sticking to their posts and defending nationwide safety,” he added. “In latest days in response to the Chinese language navy workouts, everybody did an excellent job.”
Lai mentioned he acquired an in depth briefing on the pilots response and the skills of the Taiwan fighters.
“Everyone seems to be on standby in 24-hour shifts to carry out air patrol missions,” he added. “With agency dedication and glorious fight abilities, you make full use of air fight energy and defending our airspace.”
Troopers additionally demonstrated the loading and firing of howitzers for Lai.
Some hangars on the Hualien base are reduce out of the facet of a mountain to guard them from air assault.
Taiwan has been changing 141 of the Lockheed Martin Corp F-16A/B jets to the F-16V sort, and has additionally ordered 66 of the craft with new avionics, weapons and radar methods to higher face down the Chinese language air power, together with its J-20 stealth fighters.
The F-16Vs also can carry Raytheon Applied sciences Corp’s superior AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.
Taiwan’s authorities says that because the Individuals’s Republic of China has by no means dominated the island, it has no proper to assert it or resolve its future.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Ann Wang; Modifying by Clarence Fernandez)
