A Taiwanese fighter jet went missing in northern Taiwan on Monday at the start of the island’s biggest annual military drills, casting a shadow over exercises meant to showcase the island’s ability to fend off an attack. The five-day "Han Guang" (Han Glory) drill kicked off Monday with troops practising thwarting a Chinese "invasion" by simulating surprise coastal assaults to reflect increased military threats from Beijing. Taipei lost two diplomatic allies in May as Beijing stepped up its campaign to isolate the island , while the Chinese military in April conducted a large-scale show of force in the Taiwan Strait, the narrow strip of water that divides the two.
A ROCAF F-16 crashes into a mountain near New Taipei City in northern Taiwan. The pilot is confirmed dead following a search and rescue operation.