The island has raised its alert level since the Russian invasion of Ukraine even though it has reported no unusual Chinese military activity. Periodic air-raid drills are required by law in Taiwan. ![]() Sirens sounded 30 minutes later to give the all-clear.Ĭoncern about China’s intentions toward Taiwan has added to tension with the United States, which, while it does not recognize the island as a separate country, is bound by US law to provide it with the means to defend itself.Ĭhina has issued stark private warnings to the Biden administration that suggested the possibility of a military response to a possible trip to Taiwan in August by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. Shops and restaurants pulled down their shutters and turned off lights to avoid becoming a target in the event of a night-time attack.įirefighters practiced putting out a fire triggered by a missile attack. In Taipei, police directed vehicles to move to the side of the road and passersby were told to seek shelter. “Chinese military planes have frequently harassed Taiwan in recent years and there’s even the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in February, these incidents remind us that we need to be vigilant in peace time,” Ko said. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has renewed debate in Taiwan about how best to react in the event of an attack amid stepped up Chinese military maneuvers around the island. Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claim and vows to defend itself. “It is necessary to make preparations in the event of a war,” Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je said in a speech after overseeing drills for the exercise named Wan An, which means everlasting peace.Ĭhina claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its territory and has never ruled out taking the island by force. ![]() (0530 GMT) for the mandatory street evacuation drills, which effectively shut towns and cities across northern Taiwan for 30 minutes.Ī “missile alert,” asking people to evacuate to safety immediately, was sent via text message. Several Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been targeted in attacks that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine.TAIPEI: Roads emptied and people were ordered to stay indoors in parts of Taiwan, including its capital Taipei, on Monday for an air-raid exercise as the island steps up preparations in the event of a Chinese attack. The breaches came shortly after the first anniversary of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into Ukraine in February last year. ![]() The hacks targeted only private radio and television stations. The emergencies ministry said a similar cyber attack last week triggered air raid sirens across Russia. ![]() Russian media reported that the alerts had been broadcast in the Belgorod and Voronezh regions bordering Ukraine, near Moscow and Saint Petersburg and on the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. “This information is false and does not correspond to reality,” it added. “As a result of hacking of servers of radio stations and TV channels, in some regions of the country, information about the announcement of an air raid alert was broadcast,” Russia’s emergencies ministry said in a statement. The alerts are common across Ukraine, which is routinely targeted by drone and missile attacks, but the impact of fighting within Russia is limited to regions bordering the conflict. Russian authorities said Tuesday that several regional television and radio stations that have recently broadcast air raid alerts had been breached by hackers.
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