The Ministry of National Defense recently staged its biggest military exercise in two decades in Ilan County, displaying state-of-the-art weaponry and simulating a possible attack by China. The significant part of the exercise was the participation of reserve troops as militia protecting cities and towns. Clearly the government is promoting the idea that it's everybody's job to protect their country.
A misfire occurred at one point, sending a guided anti-tank warhead short of its original target. The warhead plummeted into the ocean, missing the president by less than 300m.
Generally, countries equipped with the most advanced weaponry all declare that the weaponry is highly efficient and accurate. However, on the actual battlefield there is still the potential threat of equipment failure. Even the US military, which is equipped with the world's most accurate anti-missile system, uses the ratio of "two for one" when trying to intercept ballistic missiles. Obviously they have taken into consideration that missiles do miss.
One small mistake should not detract from the focus of the exercises. The original intention of the Han Kuang exercise was to display the nation's determination to safeguard Taiwan, and show off the progress made in integrating reserve troops into the regular armed forces. The goal was to underline that defense is everyone's job, and the Han Kuang exercise did a great job of this.
Chiu Yen-lung
Taipei
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