Taiwan's armed forces practiced defending a bridge that could provide the Chinese army with a direct route to the capital Taipei today during exercises, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
This happened on the second day of maneuvers testing the island's ability to repel a Chinese attack.
Taiwan launched the "Han Quan" exercises yesterday, which will last 10 days. The aim is to test Taiwan's readiness against a potential attack by China, which considers the island part of its territory and claims the right to take control of it by force if necessary, Reuters notes.
The "Danjiang" bridge, opened earlier this year, crosses the mouth of the Tamsui River, which leads to Taipei, although it is located in the capital's neighboring city of New Taipei.
Soldiers erected barriers, barbed wire fences and sandbag positions during the night-time drill on the world's longest asymmetric single-stay bridge.
Military vehicles and trucks mounted the bridge as soldiers unwound rolls of barbed wire, unloaded sandbags and set up defensive positions.
Cyclists and pedestrians continued to cross the unblocked section of the bridge as troops worked along it.
Chae Chung, a researcher at Taiwan's National Defense and Security Research Institute who monitored the exercises, said protecting the bridge would be crucial in wartime.
If "the attacking forces can capture and hold the "Dangjiang" bridge open, they could quickly transfer troops and supplies across the river, effectively entering Taipei's outer perimeter from beachheads along Taiwan's northern coast, which is best suited for a large-scale amphibious landing," he told Reuters.
"If the "Dangjiang" bridge "If it remained open, the main attacking force could quickly cross it to reach the north bank of the Tamsui River and then enter Taipei City itself," said Chie Chun.
"Therefore, if the Communist army quickly captured the “Danjiang“ Bridge during wartime and kept it open, it would be able to quickly transfer a large number of troops and supplies from its landing base on the south bank of the Tamsui River to the north bank," the researcher pointed out.
Chie said that while the exercise did not simulate a complete closure of the bridge, it allowed the military to gather data on how quickly engineers could deploy obstacles and what resources would be needed to block the crossing in wartime.