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Army and Navy show off skills in defense

The Army and the Navy showed off their defensive capabilities during two days of military drills in Kaohsiung starting on Wednesday.

The Ministry of National Defense nvited reporters to the Army's 564th Brigade in A-lien Township (阿蓮), Kaohsiung County, for a simulated battle, and to the Navy's Tsoying　(左營) headquarters, where reporters boarded the Kangding-class Wuchang for a three-dimensional warfare drill.

The Army exercise took place at A-lien base, where "enemy" special forces and paratroopers simulated an attack on the township.

The 564th Brigade immediately responded by sending in its scouts. With the support of the Army's OH-58D and AH-1W helicopters and blank ammunition, the brigade was able to overcome the enemy.

The drill lasted approximately two hours.

"This drill is as close as it gets to real war," said Lieutenant General Chou Yen-chung (周彥中), spokesman for Army Command Headquarters.

Major General Lin Feng-lung (林豐隆), head of the 564th Brigade, said that the brigade's main job was to defeat enemy forces after their major weapons and troops had been destroyed at sea by the Navy.

"I am quite confident that my men would succeed in this mission," he said.

Lin said that the brigade could be mobilized within 15 minutes during the day and 20 minutes at night in the event of a real war. The brigade can also be commissioned for rescue operations following natural disasters.

"What you see today is how we train almost every day," Lin said.

While the Wuchang was carrying the more than 100 reporters to the site of the military drill, they spotted Hsiung Feng III missile launchers mounted on the Perry-class Cheng Kung. The ship was docked at Tsoying's "Dangerous Item Loading/Unloading Harbor" for unloading of explosive-related materiel before the ship was delivered to dry dock for annual maintenance.

"The existence of the Hsiung Feng III is not a secret anymore," Naval Fleet Command Headquarters spokesman Rear Admiral Liou Chih-chien (劉志堅) said. "The launchers are now mounted on the Cheng Kung, but we are still `test driving' them."

Commander-in-Chief Admiral Wang Li-shen (王立申) said the Navy was still trying to determine the best platform for the Hsiung Feng III. The Cheng Kung was only one of the vessels that would test drive the system.

Wang said the Navy was planning to mount the launchers on the rest of its seven Perry-class frigates and the Jinchiang-class Feng Chiang patrol vessel and another six of its kind.

The Hsiung Feng III made its debut during last year's National Day parade, but the system has remained "semi-classified" as the military has not publicized further developments of the system.

The Navy drill simulated a fleet sailing through a mined area and potential attacks by enemy submarines.

The Feng Chiang dropped three depth charges to force the enemy submarine, simulated by the Hailung-class Sea Dragon, to surface. The two-hour drill ended when a S-70C helicopter landed on the Kangding-class Dyi Huah.
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