Taiwan's military is conducting combat readiness exercises ahead of the Lunar New Year. TaiwanPlus look at how the army is training its troops.
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00:00For the next few days, Taiwan's military is giving us an inside look into how it's preparing
00:05for a potential conflict.
00:07These combat readiness exercises are designed to test individual units' combat readiness
00:12across the country.
00:17Every year, Taiwan's military puts on this public display, not just to show that they
00:21are capable, but also to assure the public that the military is still on guard during
00:25the long holiday.
00:29At the end of January, millions of people in Taiwan are expected to travel as they celebrate
00:33the new lunar year.
00:35But the military needs to make sure it's ready 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so the rest
00:41of Taiwan can rest easy.
00:44During the Chinese New Year, there are a lot of soldiers guarding us, and this time, I
00:49will be the strongest back up for my family.
00:51Please don't worry, as long as we are here, we will make sure everyone has a good year.
00:56The exercise on display here is a drill where a group of soldiers use tanks, armored vehicles
01:01and attack helicopters to push back an enemy force.
01:04In recent months, China, which claims Taiwan and threatens invasion to bring it under its
01:09control, has increased its military pressure on the country.
01:13The defending team on display here is one of the largest brigades stationed in Hsinchu.
01:17They are responsible for protecting northern Taiwan, which includes the capital of Taipei.
01:22We emphasize on the things and projects we will face on the battlefield, so that we can
01:29perform the drills in a systematic and cohesive way to achieve better training goals.
01:35Drills like these ahead of the lunar new year have been going around Taiwan for decades
01:39and are an important part of the country's military training.
01:42Soldiers taking part in the exercises here told me that it's all about muscle memory
01:46and making sure they can react as quickly as possible, so that if an attack does happen,
01:51they're ready for whatever comes their way.
01:53Fu Hua Hong and Haimiao Kan in Hsinchu for Taiwan Plus.