logo
Sirens wail, cities shut down as Taiwan simulates Chinese air raid

Sirens wail, cities shut down as Taiwan simulates Chinese air raid

GMA Network17-07-2025
Hotel staff take shelter at the parking lot during an annual air-raid exercise in Hsinchu, Taiwan, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang
TAIPEI - Sirens wailed, roads emptied and people were ordered to stay indoors in Taiwan's capital Taipei on Thursday during an annual air-raid exercise aimed at preparing for any Chinese missile attack.
Sirens sounded at 1:30 p.m. (0530 GMT) for the mandatory street evacuation drills, which effectively shut towns and cities across northern Taiwan for 30 minutes.
An alert, asking people to evacuate to safety immediately, was sent via phone text message by the defense ministry.
"Air Defense Drill. Missile attack. Seek immediate shelter," it read in Chinese and English, accompanied by a shrill alarm.
Taiwan authorities this month updated instructions on what people should do when air-raid alerts are issued, including for citizens who are not able to get into shelters in time or for those who are driving a car.
China, whose government views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory over the island's rejection, has ramped up its military pressure over the past five years, including almost daily fighter jet flights into the skies around the island.
In the past 24 hours, 58 Chinese military planes including fighter jets were detected around Taiwan, its defense ministry said. Among them, 45 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, an unofficial buffer zone.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who China reviles as a "separatist", rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan's people can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
During the drill, police in Taipei directed vehicles to move to the side of roads and people already not inside were told to seek shelter. Some shops and restaurants pulled down shutters and turned off lights - steps aimed at reducing the risk of becoming a target in the event of a night-time attack.
Sirens sounded 30 minutes later to give the all-clear.
The civil defense drills are taking place at the same time as Taiwan's largest ever military drills, which simulated attacks on its command systems and infrastructure, as well as China's grey zone tactics including military incursions and a disinformation campaign designed to test Taiwan's response. — Reuters
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Thailand and Cambodia agree to Malaysian mediation, Malaysian minister says
Thailand and Cambodia agree to Malaysian mediation, Malaysian minister says

GMA Network

time8 hours ago

  • GMA Network

Thailand and Cambodia agree to Malaysian mediation, Malaysian minister says

Military vehicles are seen in Sisaket province in Thailand, as Cambodia and Thailand each said the other had launched artillery attacks across contested border areas early, on Sunday, July 27, 2025. REUTERS/ Athit Perawongmetha SISAKET, Thailand/PHNOM PENH — Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to Malaysia acting as a mediator in their border conflict, the Malaysian Foreign Minister said on Sunday, as the combatants each said the other had launched further artillery attacks across contested areas. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai are expected in Malaysia on Monday evening, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told state news agency Bernama. "They have full confidence in Malaysia and asked me to be a mediator," Mohamad said, adding he had talked with his Cambodian and Thai counterparts and they agreed no other country should be involved in the issue. The talks in Malaysia come after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, chair of the regional ASEAN forum, had proposed a ceasefire on Friday and US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the two leaders had agreed to work on a ceasefire. Four days after the worst fighting in more than a decade broke out between the Southeast Asian neighbors, the death toll stood above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia. More than 200,000 people have been evacuated from border areas in the two countries, authorities said. — Reuters

Russia says it has captured two villages in Ukraine; Ukraine reports heavy fighting
Russia says it has captured two villages in Ukraine; Ukraine reports heavy fighting

GMA Network

time17 hours ago

  • GMA Network

Russia says it has captured two villages in Ukraine; Ukraine reports heavy fighting

A view shows burned cars at the site of the Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Mykola Synelnykov MOSCOW - Russia's Defense Ministry said on Saturday its forces had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine, including one in Dnipropetrovsk region where Moscow says its troops have begun to make advances. Ukrainian forces made no acknowledgement that the villages had changed hands, but reported heavy fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an assessment of the situation along the 1,000-km (620-mile) front line, said the logistics hub of Pokrovsk remained the focal point of battles. He also said Ukrainian forces had recorded "successful actions" in Sumy region on Ukraine's northern border, where Russian forces have established a foothold in recent weeks. Reuters could not independently confirm battlefield accounts from either side. The front-line clashes were reported three days after the two sides held their third direct meeting in Turkey aimed at resolving the nearly 3-1/2-year-old war. Both sides reported progress in swaps of prisoners or the remains of war dead, but no breakthroughs were announced in terms of a ceasefire or a meeting of the two countries' leaders. Russia's military has been reporting nearly daily the capture of new villages in its slow advance westward. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had taken control of Zelenyi Hai in Donetsk region and Maliivka, a village just inside Dnipropetrovsk region. The ministry described Zelenyi Hai as "a major stronghold of Ukrainian formations in this section of the front (that) covered approaches to the administrative border of the Dnipropetrovsk region". Dnipropetrovsk is not among the five regions that Moscow claims as its own -- Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014. Russia last month said its forces had crossed into Dnipropetrovsk region and now says it holds at least two villages. Ukraine's military has for weeks dismissed any notion that Russian troops hold territory in the region. The Ukrainian military's General Staff, in a late evening report, mentioned Zelenyi Hai as one of several frontline areas that had come under Russian attack 11 times over the past 24 hours. It said Maliivka was one of several villages where 10 Russian attacks had been halted. Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, said Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, had identified Pokrovsk as an area requiring "special attention" under constant attack. A military spokesperson, Viktor Trehubov, told national television that Russian forces were attacking Pokrovsk in "a small simply does not stop". —Reuters

Thai-Cambodian fighting extends into third day, Malaysia urges ceasefire
Thai-Cambodian fighting extends into third day, Malaysia urges ceasefire

GMA Network

timea day ago

  • GMA Network

Thai-Cambodian fighting extends into third day, Malaysia urges ceasefire

People gather to receive water supplies donated at Batthkao Primary School camp, amid ongoing clashes on the Thai-Cambodian border that extended to the third day, with new flashpoints emerging as both sides seek diplomatic support and urge for negotiations, in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Soveit Yarn SISAKET, Thailand - Fighting on the Thai-Cambodian border extended into a third day and new flashpoints emerged on Saturday as both sides said they had acted in self-defense in the border dispute and called on the other to cease fighting and start negotiations. More than 30 people have been killed and more than 130,000 people displaced in the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors in 13 years. There were clashes early on Saturday, both sides said, in the neighboring Thai coastal province of Trat and Cambodia's Pursat Province early, a new front more than 100 km (60 miles) from other conflict points along the long-contested border. The two countries have faced off since the killing of a Cambodian soldier late in May during a brief skirmish. Troops on both sides of the border were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse. As of Saturday, Thailand said seven soldiers and 13 civilians had been killed in the clashes, while in Cambodia five soldiers and eight civilians had been killed, said Defense Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata. In the Thai border province of Sisaket, a university compound has been converted into temporary accommodation, where a volunteer said more than 5,000 people were staying. Samrong Khamduang said she left her farm, about 10 km from the border, when fighting broke out on Thursday. The 51-year-old's husband stayed behind to look after livestock. "We got so scared with the sound of artillery," she said. "But my husband stayed back and now we lost the connection. I couldn't call him. I don't know what is happening back there." In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, said he would continue to push a ceasefire proposal. Cambodia has backed Anwar's plan, while Thailand has said it agreed with it in principle. "There is still some exchange of fire," Anwar said, according to state news agency Bernama. He said he had asked his foreign minister "to liaise with the respective foreign ministries and, if possible, I will continue engaging with them myself – at least to halt the fighting". Security Council meeting Thailand's ambassador to the United Nations told a Security Council meeting on Friday that soldiers had been injured by newly planted land mines in Thai territory on two occasions since mid-July - claims Cambodia has strongly denied - and said Cambodia had then launched attacks on Thursday morning. "Thailand urges Cambodia to immediately cease all hostilities and acts of aggression, and resume dialogue in good faith," Cherdchai Chaivaivid told the council in remarks released to media. Cambodia's defense ministry said Thailand had launched "a deliberate, unprovoked, and unlawful military attack" and was mobilizing troops and military equipment on the border. "These deliberate military preparations reveal Thailand's intent to expand its aggression and further violate Cambodia's sovereignty," the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Cambodia called for the international community to "condemn Thailand's aggression in the strongest terms" and to prevent an expansion of its military activities, while Bangkok reiterated it wanted to resolve the dispute bilaterally. Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over jurisdiction of various undemarcated points along their 817-km (508-mile) land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th century Preah Vihear central to the disputes. Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tension escalated in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage site. That led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths. Cambodia in June said it had asked the court to resolve its disputes with Thailand, which says it has never recognized the court's jurisdiction and prefers a bilateral approach. — Reuters

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store