The armed forces yesterday held a major live-fire drill in Pingtung County, weeks after the Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration was accused of being soft on national defense for not using live ammunition during the Han Kuang series of exercises in April.
The Lien Yung exercise, which Ma attended, was held at the Tri-Service Joint Training Base at Paolishan (保力山) in Henchun (恆春), Pingtung County, the nation’s only base for live-fire exercises of this magnitude.
In all, 935 members from the army, air force and navy took part in the drill, which involved F-16A/B aircraft, AH-1W attack helicopters, OH-58D reconnaissance helicopters, CM-11 battle tanks, M109 howitzers and Javelin anti-tank missiles, as well as a variety of grenade launchers and rifles, all aimed at targets on the flank of the mountain.
Photo: CNA
The 584th Armored Brigade, based in Hukou Township (湖口), Hsinchu County, and the 601st Air Cavalry Brigade, based in Longtan Township (龍潭), Taoyuan County, comprised the bulk of the forces.
During the operation, a Knox-class frigate set up a naval air defense perimeter at sea.
The Lien Yung exercise, one of three tri-services exercises held routinely, takes place on a rotational basis every 18 months, following five weeks of training. Yesterday’s event was the culmination of the 584th’s training.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
A military official told the Taipei Times after the exercise that media disapproval of the absence of live-fire exercises during Han Kuang in April was the main reason reporters had been invited to attend Lien Yung.
Ma and the military maintain that the decision to forgo live ammunition usage during Hang Kuang — the nation’s largest series of exercises — stemmed from regional safety considerations and efforts to minimize the inconvenience caused to local residents.
The official also said that live-fire exercises did take place during Han Kuang, but that those were not publicized.
This was the second time since Ma took office in 2008 that the media had been invited to attend the drill.
In a 10-minute speech following the exercise, which he deemed “admirable,” Ma reaffirmed his commitment to national defense through a three-pronged approach of institutional cross-strait rapprochement, the alignment of national defense and diplomacy, and further participation in the international community. He also said that in the next four years, Taiwan would continue to acquire weapons from abroad that it cannot develop domestically.
Ma’s remarks came as it is becoming increasingly clear that Taiwan will abandon its efforts to acquire 66 F-16C/Ds from the US.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all