Enjoy Discounted Exercise Equipment From Leading Sales Outlets
SEARCH IT

CHANNELS
Encyclopedia Astronautica
SERVICES
 
Spacer Homebase
Taiwan to stage simulated terrorist attacks on capital
TAIPEI (AFP) Aug 24, 2004
Taiwan is to hold a rare war game simulating a terrorist attack on the capital Taipei, officials said Tuesday amid growing tensions with rival China.

Two military helicopters will enter the no-fly zone above the city to enact a scenario that the city government has been attacked and officials have been kidnapped.

While urging citizens not to panic over the exercise scheduled for September 22, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou said: "We have to prepare for the worst although it might not happen."

The drill will see Taipei's city government working with the defense ministry "to review how the capital could maintain its command should it be attacked by terrorists," an official told AFP.

Military engineer troops will also show their ability to rebuild bridges "destroyed" in the mock attacks, the official said.

However, he dismissed reports that the drill would involve the world's tallest skyscraper, the Taipei 101 building, saying construction of the 508-meter tower had not been completed.

Despite an official insistence that the drill is not a preparation for war, it comes at a sensitive moment in the increasingly tense relationship between Taipei and Beijing.

Taiwan has repeatedly warned of a possible blitz on Taiwan's Presidential Office and other key government posts by the People's Liberation Army, modelled on the swift US military action to depose Saddam Hussein.

China, which has some 600 missiles aimed at the island, has itself been staging large military exercises on Dongshan island, 150 nautical miles west of Taiwan, to prepare for any conflict.

Taiwan has staged a string of military war games, although a major exercise scheduled for Wednesday has been put off until next month because of Typhoon Aere.

Since pro-independence President Chen Shui-bian was re-elected in March, Beijing has stressed its long-standing vow to take Taiwan by force should the island try to declare a formal split.

All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Quick Links
SpaceWar
Search SpaceWar
Subscribe To SpaceWar Express

SpaceWar Search Engine
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SPACEWAR NEWSLETTER
SubscribeUnsubscribe
  

WAR.WIRE
  • Trump announces replacement of top US military officer
  • Australia says no live firing seen or heard from Chinese ships
  • Pentagon says will cut civilian workforce by at least 5%
  • 'Turks, Kurds want the war to end': MP involved in talks
  • EU to enhance security of undersea cables after sabotage
  • Australia says China warned of 'live fire' drill off east coast
  • Iran to conduct military exercises in Gulf of Oman
  • Russians who fled war keen to stay on in Serbia
  • Australia concerned over China navy 'live fire' drills off east coast
  • US defense chief says Musk's DOGE will have 'broad access' at Pentagon
    SPACEDAILY NEWS
     Feb 11, 2005
  • NASA Observations Help Determine Titan Wind Speeds
  • Cassini Spacecraft Witnesses Saturn's Blues
  • US Orientation Engine Fails On ISS
  • NASA Names Two Future Space Shuttle Crews
  • Simulations Show How Growing Black Holes Regulate Galaxy Formation
  • In The Stars: Odd Stars, Odder Planets
  • Natural Climate Change May Be Larger Than Commonly Thought
  • Earth Gets A Warm Feeling All Over
  • Satamatics Flying At Over 50,000 Terminals
  • Digital Angel To Expand OuterLink Subsidiary's Flight Tracking System
  • LockMart Delivers First Modernized GPS Satellite To USAF For May Launch
  • World's Fastest Oscillating Nanomachine Holds Promise For Quantum Computing
  • Carnegie Mellon's Red Team Seeks $2 Million Robot Racing Prize
  • Kionix Ships The World's Smallest High-Performance Tri-Axis Accelerometer
  • Northrop Grumman/Raytheon Team To Compete For GOES-R System
  • Blue Planet: The Fading Songs Of Whales
  • New Cameras Turn Night Into Day
  • North Korea Suspends Talks, Says It Will Build More Nuclear Bombs
  • Analysis: How Super Is The Superpower?
  • Walker's World: Why Rice Should Thank Zarqawi
  • NATO Agrees Expansion Of Afghan Force
  • North Korea Probably Bluffing Over Nuclear Threat: Australia
  • US Options Seen Limited Against Nuclear-Armed North Korea
  • Six Iraqi Policemen Killed, US Helicopters Fire Missiles To End Siege
  • Germany And Malaysia Urge Peace In Tsunami-Ravaged Aceh
  • Task Of Collecting Indonesia's Tsunami Dead Will Take Six Months: Red Cross
  • EU Brings Forward Preferential Trade Scheme For Developing Countries
  • Cambodia's Former Forestry Monitor Blasts World Bank Over Logging
  • Thales Posts Lower Sales In 2004, Missing Own Target
  • Rolls-Royce Profits Rise; Orders At Record Levels

  • The contents herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2002 - SpaceDaily. AFP Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement