IN PICS: Fighter Jets Land On Highway!

It was a reminder of lingering Chinese hostilities towards the island despite warming ties between the two rivals.

A Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet land takes off from a closed section of highway during the annual Han Kuang military exercises, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014, in Chiayi, central Taiwan.

The exercise is to train pilots and ground crew to use a section of highway as an airstrip in the event of an attack from mainland China.

A Taiwan Air Force E-2K Air Early Warning aircraft lands on a highway, designated as an emergency runway in the event of war, during the annual Han Kuang military exercise in Chiayi County, southern Taiwan September 16, 2014.

Taiwan displayed how its fighter jets and early warning aircraft could land, refuel and take off on a closed motorway, in a scenario simulating a Chinese attack that wiped out the island's air force bases.

The exercise, the first of its kind since 2011, was a reminder of lingering Chinese hostilities towards the island despite warming ties between the two rivals.

Three jet fighters, an F-16, a Mirage 2000-5 and a home-made Indigenous Defence Fighter, practised landing on a freeway in southern Chiayi County, where they refuelled and loaded missiles and other ammunition before taking off again.

Ties between Taiwan and China have improved markedly since 2008 after Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power on a platform of increasing tourism and trade links.