SpaceWar.com reports: “Taiwan conducted an air defence test on Tuesday deploying US-made Patriot missiles and its anti-aircraft artillery systems, saying it will ramp up training in the face of Chinese military ‘intrusions’ around the self-ruled island.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will not rule out using force to bring the island under its control.

Chinese warplanes and ships maintain a near-daily presence around the island, as Beijing has ramped up military pressure against Taipei using what experts say are ‘grey zone’ actions — tactics that stop short of outright acts of war.

Taiwan’s Air Force Command said it conducted an exercise between 5:00 and 7:00 am (2100-2300 GMT Monday) that included the island’s domestically made Sky Bow and US-made Patriot surface-to-air missiles along with army and navy units.

‘The aim was to verify the command and control of joint air defence operations among the three branches of the military,’ it said, adding that the exercise went smoothly…”