TAIPEI (Taiwan News) - Taiwan’s French-built Mirage 2000 jets only need six minutes to get ready for takeoff, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday.

Amid rising fears, partly by military and academic circles in the United States, about China’s modernizing military clout and its aggressive stance against Taiwan, the island country’s Armed Forces were ready and able to defend its sovereignty and security, the Central News Agency reported.

In order to show off its increased preparedness, including during next month’s Lunar New Year holiday, the military invited reporters to tour the Hsinchu Air Force Base Wednesday morning.

The event included a demonstration of the Mirage fighter jets’ capability for emergency preparation and takeoff, especially in the event of suspicious moves from the side of the Chinese military, reports said.

Only six minutes of preparation were needed for the plane to take to the air and respond to an emergency, officers said, emphasizing that the Air Force was ready to act 24 hours a day.

The demonstration with the Mirage followed a visit by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to a military base on Taiwan’s east coast where she inspected the new domestically produced Sky Bow III (天弓三型) surface-to-air missiles.