Taipei

Amid tensions with China, Taiwan showcased its most advanced fighter jet the US-made F-16V.

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China conducted large-scale military exercise this month after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visited to the island nation earlier this month. Tensions in the region escalated as US lawmakers made a visit later angering the Communist nation.

Also Read: US-Taiwan begin formal talks under new trade initiative

In its latest military manoeuvre, Taiwan loaded the F-16V fighter jet with anti-ship missiles at an airbase in eastern Hualien county as six advanced jets took off for night reconnaissance.

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The F-16Vs were first deployed in November last year in Taiwan as China continued to send warplanes into Taiwan's air defence zone. The new jets are an upgraded version of the F-16 fighters.

Watch: US tests nuclear missile after China's Taiwan drills

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Taiwan's military said it needs to remain "vigilant" against the threat from "Chinese communist forces' recent military exercises". Taiwan had earlier accused China of using Nancy Pelosi's visit as an excuse to launch high-level military drills both on land and at sea.

China considers Taiwan as a breakaway province which it has threatened to take by force if necessary. In a white paper released earlier this month, China reiterated that it will "not renounce the use of force" against Taiwan.

A defiant Taiwan said it will continue to resist Chinese attempts as Premier Su Tseng-chang said the country "shouldn't be too afraid to do anything". A two-day visit by senior US Congress members further increased tensions between China and Taiwan as Taiwan President Tsai pushed for "prosperity and stability of the Indo-Pacific region".

Tsai cited said Russia's invasion of Ukraine to say "the threat that authoritarian states pose to the world order" referring to China.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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