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Annual Han Kuang live-fire military drills kick off

ROC Central News Agency

2018/06/04 16:43:07

Taipei, June 4 (CNA) The annual Han Kuang live-fire military drills were launched in Taiwan Monday to test and boost the country's defense capabilities, focusing on joint anti-airborne operations at Ching Chuan Kang air base in Taichung, central Taiwan, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

The series of live-fire drills held in northern, central and southern parts of Taiwan that will run through Friday follows a string of computer simulated war games that were conducted April 30-May 4.

That morning, naval ships sailed from the Su'ao naval base in Yilan County and from Zuoying naval base in Kaohsiung and mustered in their respective war preparation zones upon receiving instructions from the Hengshan Military Command Center for a fight against a simulated attack by Chinese vessels.

Mirage jets also scrambled from the Hsinchu air base and flew to underground aircraft hangars at the Chia Shan air base in Hualien County.

According to Maj. Gen. Yeh Kuo-hui (葉國輝), chief of the MND's Operations and Planning Division, this year's Han Kuang military drills will feature the scenario of an imminent Chinese attack and the role of civilian personnel and reserve forces, showcasing the logistics and supply capability to back up war-damaged telecommunication systems and integrating with the annual Wan-an anti-raid drills that also kicked off in northern Taiwan Monday.

This year's Han Kuang drills have four focal points: joint air-sea combat operations, anti-landing operations in the north, anti-landing operations in the south, and joint anti-airborne combat operations in central Taiwan, the ministry said.

On Tuesday, the joint air-sea combat program will simulate a real-time invasion by Chinese military forces from different points of attack across the Taiwan Strait, with training locations in waters off Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung.

The next day, anti-landing excercises will begin in coastal areas of western Taiwan, with non live-fire "strategic confrontations" simulating how the military would act if Chinese forces were to attempt an invasion. Later that same day, the troops will head to the Army's Northern United Examination Center in Hukou, Hsinchu County, and the Joint Operations Training Base in Hengchun, Pingtung County, for live-fire training.

Joint anti-airborne operations will be conducted Thursday at Ching Chuan Kang air base in Taichung to test the military's ability to respond in case of an attempted landing by the Chinese air force at the airport.

For the first time, repair units, logistics and supply personnel, such as Chunghwa Telecom, and drones operated by civilians, will be deployed in the joint anti-airborne operations to craft an optimal strategy to win an asymmetric war against China.

(By You Kai-hsiang and Flor Wang)
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