The tabletop phase of the Han Kuang 27 series of military exercises that concluded on Friday for the first time included P-3C marine patrol aircraft in the simulation, which performed very well in detecting Chinese submarines during an attack/defense simulation.
The war games, held from Monday last week through Friday, featured National Defense University instructors as the belligerent forces and military staff headquarters as the defenders.
Military sources said the war games incorporated the P-3C aircraft, purchased from the US, in the marine-patrol games and that in the few simulated attack and defense scenarios, the P-3C proved a strong deterrent to Chinese submarines, locating enemy submarine positions before they could launch an attack.
There nevertheless were heavy losses to the defender’s surface fleet.
Taiwan procured 12 P-3C aircraft from the US for US$1.9 billion in 2007. The first aircraft was delivered to Taiwanese units training in the US last month, with the other 11 scheduled for delivery this year and next.
The Ministry of National Defense had wanted to add anti-aircraft-carrier scenarios to the war games, but retired vice admiral Lan Ning-li (蘭寧利) said that without knowing more details about the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) plans for a carrier battle group, the inclusion of such platforms would have been insignificant.
“At most, it would serve to hone the resolve of the officers during the war games,” Lan said.
As the J-20 stealth fighter has yet to be incorporated into the PLA Air Force, it also was not included in a scenario simulating the defense of Penghu and Taiwan proper.
The scenario also ruled out the possibility of a major US intervention in the conflict.
However, the military allowed the attackers to “cheat” and modify computer data to test the other side’s ability to react to unexpected situations.
Despite the limitations, military sources said that several “creative” strategies were employed and the results were to the satisfaction of Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱).
Military officials said the war games showed continual progress, with both the belligerent and the defending forces winning some and losing some, adding that the priority was to discover where the problems were and find out better solutions.
Who ultimately won and lost does not matter, officials said.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS