2023 Han Kuang drills to test response to latest PLA threats: MND
ROC Central News Agency
04/26/2023 01:21 PM
Taipei, April 26 (CNA) Taiwan's annual war games in 2023 will simulate responses to a potential Chinese invasion based on the latest threats posed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to test its combat readiness, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Wednesday.
As in previous years, this year's Han Kuang series of drills will be held in two stages.
The tabletop war games phase will be held May 15-19 and the live-fire exercise component is scheduled for July 24-28, said Major General Lin Wen-huang (林文皇), who is in charge of planning at the MND, during a press briefing.
The computerized war games will be conducted using the United States-built Joint Theater Level Simulation (JTLS) platform that is used to simulate joint, combined, and coalition civil-military operations at the operational level, Lin said.
Those simulations will be held around the clock for five days in a row to test the ability of military personnel to coordinate and launch a response to a Chinese invasion, Lin said.
The main points of emphasis of the live-fire drills, Lin said, will be on testing the military's ability to preserve its forces in the event of a full-scale invasion and to conduct "maritime interceptions" to counter the PLA's attempt to blockade Taiwan.
That will include using civilian airports and dispersing air assets, as well as disguising forces on the ground and integrating sea, air and land forces to attack enemy forces and amphibious assault ships, according to Lin.
He sidestepped a question, however, on whether this year's Han Kuang exercises would simulate a response to China's newest aircraft carrier, the Shandong, which recently engaged in its first-ever exercises in the Western Pacific in waters not far from Taiwan.
Lin would only said that the annual drill will simulate all kinds of recent PLA maneuvers and deployments that pose a threat to the country.
He also did not directly comment on whether a military aircraft emergency landing and takeoff drill will be staged for the first time at a civilian airport in eastern Taiwan in July during the live-fire portion of the exercises, as CNA had reported last month.
The one-star general said civilian airports would be an important asset for the military to increase its flexibility and make sure its air assets could survive longer, which is why the ministry will simulate the scenario, without naming Taitung Fengnian Airport.
An unnamed source told CNA on March 28 that the drill to be staged at the airport in Taitung County in southeastern Taiwan will simulate a scenario in which Taiwan's military airports and airstrips are severely damaged by enemy fire, requiring fighter jets to land at civilian ones or on the highway.
It would be the first time this type of drill has been staged in the history of the airport, which opened in 1981.
The Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan's major war games, have been held annually since 1984, in the form of live-fire drills and computerized war games, to test Taiwan's combat readiness in the face of a possible Chinese invasion.
This year will mark the 39th edition of the annual exercises, which are Taiwan's most important military drills that include all branches of the armed forces.
(By Joseph Yeh)
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