Taiwan scales back annual war games as Typhoon Gaemi approaches

Air force drills off east coast cancelled but naval and land exercises set to continue

Taiwan has been forced to scale back its annual war games as it braced for Typhoon Gaemi, which is set to hit the island’s east coast before heading towards mainland China.

The island is conducting the Han Kuang military drills involving its land, air and naval forces to simulate actual battle from Monday to Friday.

The air force drills off the east coast scheduled for Tuesday have been cancelled, but naval and land exercises are set to continue in and around other parts of the self-governing island.

Gaemi is still a day away from making landfall but has already caused rains and storms in the eastern counties, with alerts issued on Tuesday morning for regions that will be pummeled by the typhoon’s outer bands.

According to the Central Weather Bureau, the typhoon is approaching Cape Eluanbi, the southernmost point, at a speed of 22kph, carrying maximum sustained winds of up to 144kph.

It is expected to make landfall sometime between late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

Currently categorised as a medium-strength typhoon, it is likely to move across the Taiwan Strait and impact the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian in the early hours of Friday.

Taiwanese soldiers take part in the annual Han Kuang exercises (AFP)

"The impact from the typhoon at present on the east coast is rather obvious," ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang told reporters at the Hualien air base. "So we will adjust some of the air and naval elements given the typhoon situation."

China has issued an alert for strong winds and heavy rains in the southern part of the country. It will be the third typhoon this year to lash China which is already facing a deluge of heavy rainstorms and strong winds.

The war games are critical for the military preparedness of the island, which China claims as part of its own territory.

China has been ramping up pressure on the island with regular exercises around the island for the past four years.

It staged drills around the Taiwan Strait shortly after Lai Ching-te took over as president in May, calling it “punishment” for his inauguration speech.

Taiwanese soldiers simulate treatment of injured people during the Han Kuang military exercises (AP)

The Han Kuang exercises kicked off in Tamsui, the mouth of a major river leading to Taipei, where soldiers practised laying landmines and nets.

The drills will include intensified night-time exercises for the first time, operations with loss of contact and updated military rules of engagement. They are part of a series of exercises to prevent enemy forces from seizing the capital.

The drills will be unscripted to prepare soldiers for a real-life war when there would be no information on enemy movements.