Journalists were invited for the first time to a drill simulating aerial assaults on Taiwan's major air bases and testing the military's ability to recover quickly from such a shock.
The manoeuvres, staged at a military air base near Hualien city in eastern Taiwan, played out a scenario in which runways were bombed by waves of bombers or missiles from the mainland.
"The drill is aimed to test our ability to repair runways as soon as possible so that fighter jets can take off should the air base be attacked," air force spokesman Lieutenant General Pan Kung-hsiao told reporters.
The exercise involvedhundreds of troops, some operating heavy engineering equipment such asbulldozers, hydraulic shovels and bomb disposal engines.
Pilots and logistic supplystaff also demonstrated emergency procedures for four French-madeMirage fighter jets, which were ready for take-off six minutes afterbeing scrambled.
Military analysts say any Chinese invasion of Taiwan would bepreceded by saturation air bombardment meant to wipe out civilian andmilitary airports and key government facilities and paralyse transportation systems.
Tuesday's exercise came after a Chinese flotilla, including twosubmarines and eight other ships, conducted drills in the East ChinaSea near Okinawa and then moved to the Pacific Ocean, according toJapanese media.
The appearance of the Chinese fleet -- the largest assembly of Chinese warships ever spotted in the region, according to Japan's defence ministry -- has triggered alarms in Taiwan.
Taiwan's Deputy Defence Minister Chao Shih-chang warned inparliament Monday the operation indicated China was now able to bypassthe island's fortified west and attack the island from the east.
Ties between Taipei and Beijing have improved markedly since MaYing-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008,pledging to boost trade links and allowing in more Chinese tourists.
But Beijing still maintains it could use force against the island,which it regards as part of its territory since their split in 1949 atthe end of a civil war.
