The military yesterday simulated an invasion by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the first day of the annual five-day live-fire phase of the Han Kuang military exercises.
The Ministry of National Defense’s Joint Operations Command Center, also known as the Hengshan Command Center, ordered F-16V jets from Hualien Air Force Base to conduct emergency takeoffs in batches from 5:30am yesterday to defend the airspace along the east coast.
Some fighter jets based in western Taiwan were dispatched to Hualien as part of a simulation in which most of the nation’s military bases in the west were “destroyed.”
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
C-130 transport aircraft were used to take military personnel responsible for fighter jet maintenance, together with equipment and supplies, to designated locations in eastern Taiwan.
Naval vessels also set sail and troops practiced defense tactics as if they were being attacked by enemy planes or missiles.
The tabletop drills for the 38th edition of the Han Kuang exercises were carried out from May 16 to May 20, while the live-fire exercises are to conclude on Friday.
The live-fire exercises are divided into three parts — the military is to practice conserving its forces and air defense over the first two days, joint interception on the third day and joint territory defense on the last two days.
In related news, the Fisheries Agency posted a bulletin saying that the military and the Coast Guard Administration are to carry out a series of live-fire drills after the Han Kuang exercises are over.
Troops stationed in Penghu and Kinmen counties, and on Dongyin Island (東引) and the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) would conduct exercises next month and those stationed on Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) would do so in September, the bulletin said.
The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology canceled artillery tests in Taiwan’s southeastern sea and airspace on Wednesday and Thursday, but the artillery drill on Wednesday and Thursday next week would be carried out, it said.
The Army Matsu Defense Command would conduct exercises at night on Friday and Saturday next week, the Army Kinmen Defense Command would choose 11 days to conduct artillery exercises from Thursday next week to Aug. 31 and the Army Penghu Defense Command would carry out exercises in the Wude (五德) region on Aug. 24 and Aug. 25, it said.
The coast guard would be in charge of the artillery exercises on the Dongsha Islands on Saturday next week and Aug. 13, followed by the exercises on Taiping Island on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, it said.
SOLIDARITY: A group of European lawmakers condemned China’s aggressive moves, while the foreign minister of Lithuania said Taiwan ‘cannot become a second Ukraine’ A German parliamentary delegation would visit Taiwan in the first week of October, German lawmaker Holger Becker on Monday told visiting Democratic Progressive Party legislators Fan Yun (范雲) and Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) at the Bundestag in Berlin. Asked by Fan whether he is worried about possible reprisals from Beijing, such as banning him and his family from entering China, Becker said he is more interested in visiting Taiwan, as “now is the time for democracies to stand together.” Fan and Lin also met with German officials to exchange views on digital education and governance. Investing in digital infrastructure and protecting equal rights to
As China waged extensive military exercises off Taiwan, a group of US defense experts in Washington was focused on their own simulation of an eventual — but for now entirely hypothetical — US-China war over the nation. The unofficial what-if game is being conducted on the fifth floor of an office building not far from the White House, and it posits a US military response to a Chinese invasion in 2026. Even though the participants bring a US perspective, they are finding that a US-Taiwan victory, if there is one, could come at a huge cost. “The results are showing that under
WRONG TIMING: The delegation’s trip has not only disappointed Taiwanese, but could send a wrong message to the global community, Tsai Ing-wen said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) yesterday left with a delegation for a trip to China, drawing fire for visiting at a time when Beijing has been conducting intensive military drills to pressure Taiwan. Before boarding, he told reporters that the delegation would be visiting Taiwanese communities and students in China, and possibly meet with Chinese officials. The Mainland Affairs Council on Tuesday night said that it was not the right time for political party members to visit China, as Beijing has been conducting military exercises since Thursday last week. President Tsai Ing- wen (蔡英文), chairperson of the Democratic
‘MILITARY PLAYBOOK’: It would have taken far longer for the PLA to put together the drills had they actually been in response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit, Joseph Wu said China is using military drills to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan, and its anger over US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit is just an excuse, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. Speaking in English at a news conference in Taipei, Wu accused China of “gross violations of international law.” “China has used the drills in its military playbook to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan,” he said. “It is conducting large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyberattacks, disinformation and economic coercion, in an attempt to weaken public morale in Taiwan.” He said the Chinese
RSS