Edit: Ahmed Al-Kumi

A source has stated that the Taiwanese Air Force conducted combat readiness exercises that mimic a "war scenario" amid rising tensions with Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of the People's Republic of China.

According to media reports, today the Taiwanese Air Force carried out combat readiness exercises simulating the "war scenario," in the southern Taiwan city of Chiayi.

The training was part of a three-day exercise aimed at testing the Taiwanese army's readiness for battle, and F- 16, the same aircraft used to intercept Chinese aircraft in Taiwanese airspace, participated in the exercises on multiple occasions.

One Taiwanese army officer said in his statement that "our pilots are very experienced and have dealt with almost all kinds of [Chinese] aircraft," and that Taiwan complains about the intensification of such incursions in recent months, with Beijing saying that Taipei's "reunification" with mainland China is imminent.

In his New Year's address, President Xi Jinping said that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait wanted "the complete unification of the motherland."

Tsai Eng Wen also warned the president of Taiwan, China, against "military adventure" and insisted that "the army is certainly not an option for resolving cross-Strait differences."