Fears about military action from the mainland have eased as relations continue to improve after President Ma Ying-jeou was elected last year. Taiwan last week replaced its military exercise with a computer war game that simulated a Chinese attack.

In Sunday's drill off Kaohsiung harbor in southern Taiwan, mock terrorists jumped aboard an oil tanker from a speedboat in an attempt to command the ship and take the crew hostage, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949. China continues to claim the self-ruled island as part of its territory, to be reunified with by force if necessary. -- AP