Taiwan's Army Armored 584 Brigade dispatched CM11 Brave Tiger tanks and Clouded Leopard eight-wheeled armored vehicles for combat readiness reconnaissance patrols on Hsinchu streets early Saturday morning, in response to the normalization of combat readiness tasks, according to a statement from the Taiwan Army posted on its official Facebook account Saturday. The convoy of heavy tanks and armored vehicles appeared on streets in Hsinchu, as reported by Taipei Comprehensive News citing the Taiwan Army confirmation. The patrols covered the brigade's defense area, as stated in the army's Facebook post. This activity follows Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reports earlier on December 29 of detecting 89 Chinese aircraft and 28 naval vessels around Taiwan, prompting rapid response exercises and high alert status, according to ministry statements and @TaiwanMonitor updates between 6:46 p.m. and 8:16 p.m. UTC. Taiwan forces have maintained joint sea and air operations amid ongoing People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command's 'Justice Mission 2025' exercises, including vessel positioning around the island, as visualized in operational maps published by @TaiwanMonitor using ministry data.
