Following the visit of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) announced military drills in six areas bordering Taiwan and entering its territorial waters on Aug. 3. Chinese military aircraft and warships have been conducting drills near the Taiwan Strait since then, and many of them are still operating in the eastern seas.

Taiwan's Hualien Air Force Base is reportedly ready to deploy four fully loaded F-16V fighter jets, each equipped with missiles to defend the country's east coast.

There has been a lot of activity at Air Force Hualien Base recently. According to the report, general training duties have all been discontinued and shifted to combat readiness duties.

The base has prepared more than ten combat readiness mission aircraft, most of which are equipped with anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles.

Each F-16V jet is equipped with two AIM-120 advanced medium-range anti-aircraft missiles, two AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range anti-aircraft missiles, two AGM-84 Harpoon missiles and an ALQ-184 electric warfare payload, as well as two fuel tanks.

After receiving a combat order, the F-16V fighter jet can go straight into the air and launch a direct attack on a PLA Navy warship.

About the Harpoon (RGM-84/UGM-84/AGM-84) is a subsonic anti-ship cruise missile developed in the United States and used since 1977. Since its inception, various variants have been developed, including air-launched, surface-launched, and submarine-launched versions. The missile has also been modified for various aircraft, such as the S-3 Viking, P-3 Orion, P-8 Poseidon, AV-8B Harrier II, F/A-18 Hornet/Super Hornet, and F-16 Fighting Falcon.