Military officials yesterday briefed President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) at the Hengshan Military Command Center (衡山指揮所) on a week-long computer-aided war game conducted in the first phase of the annual Han Kuang military exercises to be held throughout the year.
The war games simulate a full-scale invasion of Taiwan by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to test the deployment speed and combat readiness of military units, as well as the functioning of the military chain of command.
It was the last time for Ma to attend a military exercise in his capacity as the president, since the live-fire exercises in August, October and November are to be presided over by president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The officials supervised troop maneuvers and combat operations to counter a simulated landing of PLA battle groups through the Internet-capable “Joint Theater Level Simulation” (JTLS) computer modeling system.
Contingency plans used in the the simulation include finding ways to relay news and information to the outside world through channels in the US-Japan defense cooperation pact in the event that the PLA cuts off Taiwan’s external telecommunication links and disables its digital networks.
Ma called on all branches of the armed forces to always remain alert and vigilant to protect the nation from external threats.
“No matter which political party holds power, there is no change in the mission for the nation’s troops. They must remain as the force that supports Taiwan’s development as a constitutional democracy and preserves peace in the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
The five-day war games are to end on Friday.
This year’s No. 32 Han Kuang military exercises have expanded the program’s scope and involvement of all branches of the air force, the army and the navy, and would be the largest in the nation’s history.
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