Live-fire Hankuang war games to take place every two years: MND
ROC Central News Agency
Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) The live-fire Hankuang war games will now be held every two years instead of annually, Defense Minister Chen Chao-min said Thursday.
Speaking at a meeting at the Legislative Yuan Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Chen said that the 25th Hankuang war games, which were scheduled for 2009, will held in 2010 instead.
Chen said that the annual schedule does not allow enough time to work out the kinks in the computerized warfare simulation, live-fire military drills and other demonstrations that are part of the Hankuang war games.
"Since I assumed the post of defense minister in May, I've found that the problems have been piling up without being effectively tackled," Chen said.
He added that this prompted him to reschedule the frequency of the military exercises, which are intended to solidify the military's joint warfare plan among the branches of the armed forces and sharpen their defense and combat readiness.
When asked by ruling Kuomintang Legislator Lin Yu-fang whether the computer-simulated war games, code-named "Yu Shan," will continue to be held annually as they were under the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party administration from 2000-2008, Chen said that the National Security Council (NSC) was in charge of the "Yu Shan" war games and it would be up to the NSC to determine whether or not the exercises should continue annually.
The "Yu Shan" simulation was aimed at countering a possible invasion by Chinese armed forces.
Meanwhile, effective from 2009, the regular troop training cycle will be changed from one year to 18 months, according to Chiu Kuo-cheng, deputy chief of General Staff for Operations and Planning, Ministry of National Defense, who was also at the interpellation session.
(By Deborah Kuo)
ENDITEM /pc
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