On Taiwan’s Front Line With China, a Constant State of Alertness

On Taiwan’s Front Line With China, a Constant State of Alertness
Taiwanese troops pose for pictures after conducting drills in front of the media, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on Jan. 15, 2020. Ben Blanchard/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

CHIAYI, Taiwan—An alarm sounds and the pilots rush to their jets, sitting at the ready under a hardened shelter in the warm winter sun of southern Taiwan.

Their scramble into the air was only a drill before an audience of journalists. But for Taiwan’s Air Force and its most advanced fighters, the newly upgraded F-16V, the threat from China across the narrow Taiwan Strait is very real.