Amphibious assault vehicles – marked red to signify they were Chinese for the purposes of the wargames – rolled steadily through the sand as crimson-helmeted soldiers raced alongside in the mock invasion.
But they were impeded by Taiwanese tanks and troops, who navigated their way around tall grasses and past coloured smoke plumes.
“In the future, the threats and challenges we face will become more and more complicated,” said Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who watched Thursday’s drill dressed in army fatigues.
She was also wearing a face mask after being diagnosed with Covid this week – though only with mild symptoms.
Without mentioning China, she said that Taiwan needed to “envision the situation of hybrid threats in advance to formulate relevant plans and enhance the drills”.
“With everyone’s concerted efforts, we fully demonstrated our combat intention to prevent the enemy from establishing a beachhead, and successfully completed this joint anti-landing combat mission,” she said.
Since Tsai – who does not accept that Taiwan is a part of China – came to power in 2016, Beijing has stepped up military and political pressure on the island.
In the past year, the Chinese military has held two massive drills around Taiwan, simulating targeted strikes and a blockade of the island.