The annual Han Kuang military exercise is scheduled to begin in the nation’s northern, central and southern regions today, with a focus on joint anti-airborne operations at Taichung’s Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base.
Live-fire exercises would take place until Friday, with personnel divided into red and blue groups to simulate battle situations, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
The drills would focus on joint air-sea combat operations, anti-landing operations in the north and south, and joint anti-airborne combat operations in the central regions, the ministry said.
The joint air-sea combat operations would simulate an invasion by Chinese military forces from different points of attack across the Taiwan Strait, it said, adding that naval drills would be conducted off Kaohsiung, and Pingtung and Taitung counties due to the sensitivity of conducting live-fire drills in the Strait.
Anti-landing exercises would begin on the west coast with non-live-fire “strategic confrontation” exercises to simulate how the military would react if Chinese forces landed on Taiwan, the ministry said.
The troops would later head to the army’s Northern United Examination Center in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口) and Joint Operations Training Base in Pingtung’s Hengchun Township (恆春) for live-fire training, it said.
The joint anti-airborne operations in central Taiwan would be a key part of the eight-day Han Kuang military exercise, the ministry said, adding that reporters would be invited to observe the exercise in Taichung.
The military would test its capability to react to a scenario in which Chinese airborne forces land at the Taichung air base, while civilian factories and other support units, such as Chunghwa Telecom, would simulate repairing war-damaged combat facilities, it added.
Drones operated by civilian companies would also conduct joint surveillance missions during the anti-airborne exercise, the ministry said.
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