there on 20 March and Naniwa and Yoshino scouted for a good landing site. The IJA's troops were scheduled to land on Wangan Island the following day, but that had to be delayed when Yoshino ran aground. Tōgō transferred his flag to Naniwa after the cruiser was refloated that evening. Bad weather delayed the landing until 23 March as Naniwa and the Flying Squadron bombarded the fort defending the island. The Chinese forces defending the islands surrendered or abandoned their positions and all of the islands were under Japanese control three days later. Preparations to conquer Taiwan took several months to organize and the IJA only made its first landing on the island on 1 June. Two days later, Naniwa and Takachiho were among the ships bombarding the forts defending the port of Keelung as the IJA successfully attacked it. On 7 June the sisters briefly blockaded the port of Tamsui near the island's capital of Taipei. Naniwa returned to Japan on 20 October and was reduced to reserve on 10 November. She received a lengthy refit and modernization in 1896. The ship made a training cruiser to the new Republic of Hawaii from 20 April – 26 September 1897. Naniwa was reclassified as a second-class cruiser on 21 March 1898 and saluted Rear Admiral Prince Heinrich of Prussia, commander of the German East Asia Squadron on 29 June 1899 in Yokohama. During the Boxer Rebellion, the cruiser was being rearmed in early 1900 and then patrolled the Yellow Sea from December 1900 to May 1901. Russo-Japanese War On 28 December 1903, Naniwa and Takachiho were assigned to the Fourth Division of Vice Admiral Kamimura Hikonojō's Second Fleet. Vice Admiral Tōgō, commander of the Combined Fleet, intended that the Fourth Division, under the command of Rear Admiral Uryū Sotokichi aboard Naniwa, reinforced by the armored cruiser , would escort troop ships to Chemulpo (modern Incheon) and destroy any Russian forces there to clear the way for the IJA units to land. The cruiser was present at Chemulpo monitoring the situation there and would coordinate with Uryū. Chiyoda rendezvoused with Uryū's ships on the morning of 8 February and reported that the Russian protected cruiser and the elderly gunboat were anchored in the neutral port of Chemulpo, together with British, French, Italian and American warships. It was against the laws of war to attack enemy ships in a neutral ports, so