The military held war games to drill its paratrooper and airborne defense units at an airbase in Greater Taichung yesterday as part of this year’s five-day Han Kuang series of exercises.
The 50-minute drill, which started at 7:30am at the Ching Chuan Kang Airbase, resembled a scrimmage, albeit with heavy weaponry and military expertise.
Planners divided a total of 2,596 soldiers into two teams of attackers and defenders.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
The attack group launched two Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft to clear the ground. Then, an onslaught of paratroopers, including 206 elite airborne soldiers, jumped out of transport aircraft to take the territory.
At the same time, ground defenders used the weapons at their disposal to repel the invaders. They deployed AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters, OH-58D scout and attack helicopters, and physical barriers to block the advances by the paratroopers. In addition, the defenders also released smoke to disorient the airborne troops during their landing.
This drill marked the first Han Kuang exercise in which female soldiers — eight in all — took part in a simulated parachute offensive, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
The drill came two days after the military staged another simulation to practice emergency landings and takeoffs on a section of freeway in Greater Tainan, which acts as a runway of last resort if airbases have already been taken out by enemy bombers.
Meanwhile, in other Han Kuang-related action, more than 3,000 troops engaged in an amphibious landing drill in Pingtung County.
At 7am, a fleet of amphibious gunboats approached the coast of Pingtung County and waited for marine specialists to launch bombs that would clear any mines from the waters. Their cargo included marines, M60A3 tanks and other armored vehicles.
When the coast was clear, troops started assaulting the beachhead from their amphibious transports and assault vehicles. At the same time, jet fighters and attack helicopters were also deployed to facilitate the landing operation.
During the offensive, one jeep was seen stuck on the beach and was later rescued by an armored vehicle, a scene that many spectators had thought was a mishap.
When the jeep was pulled onshore, however, the military broadcast said the beach “rescue” operation was “conducted successfully.”
The disabled jeep was reportedly part of the drill.
Chang Shou-ling (張壽齡), a senior official in the Marine Corps, said the rescue challenge was included to simulate a common glitch in these operations — that any landing vehicle could get stuck owing to conditions on the ground.
This year’s Han Kuang military exercises began on Monday and end today.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)