The latest computerized scenario carried out by the military showed that in a war with China, Taiwan’s military was able to defeat enemy forces after they landed and tried to occupy the country, a local newspaper said yesterday.
The Chinese-language China Times reported that the Han Kuang 27 computerized war games held from July 18 to July 23 showed the military would survive a first strike from the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) from the air and sea. In the simulation, after PLA troops landed in the central part of the country, Taiwanese troops surrounded the enemy forces in the Dadu Mountain (大肚山) area near Greater Taichung and annihilated them.
This was the best performance in computerized war games carried out by the military in recent years, the newspaper said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Under the scenario, which assumed war next year, the PLA launched about 1,000 ballistic missiles and cruise missiles to attack Taiwan’s air force, civilian airports and various military facilities, before sending in ground troops from the sea and air, the newspaper said.
The scenario also had China’s Il-76 airlifters, which carry a number of paratroopers, taking off from airports in Fujian Province with air support from Su-30 aircraft.
Those paratroopers then carried out a successful occupation of Taiwan’s military airports.
Out at sea, a division of PLA landing craft groups would head toward Taiwan, with more than 100,000 soldiers crossing the Taiwan Strait in civilian vessels.
The report said the landing craft groups would pretend to be heading toward northern Taiwan and that the Sixth Army Corps stationed in northern Taiwan would prepare to ward off the enemy. However, the sea troops would suddenly change direction and land in the area near Taichung Harbor and the Dajia River (大甲溪).
PLA troops would occupy Taichung Harbor and Cingcyuangang Air Force Base in Greater Taichung, putting the Taiwanese military at a disadvantage.
However, after the army defeated the small forces landing on northern and southern Taiwan, the Eighth Army Corps succeeded in heading to the Dadu Mountain area and with the mobilization of reserve troops, the military surrounded enemy forces and defeated them.
The report said the key point to winning the war simulation is that after the PLA launched the missile strikes, Taiwan’s air force quickly moved its major fighters into tunnels at Hualien Air Force Base. With air support from fighters and helicopter forces, the army was able to defeat the enemy in the Greater Taichung area in the simulation.
Military spokesman David Lo (羅紹和) said the military would not comment on the news report.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
RSS