Retired US general Robert B. Abrams reportedly served as adviser to Chief of the General Staff Admiral Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹) during the Ministry of National Defense’s computer-simulated war games in the buildup to this year’s 41st annual Han Kuang military exercises, local media reported yesterday.
For 14 days and 13 nights starting on April 5 and ending yesterday, the armed forces conducted the computer-simulated war games component of the Han Kuang exercises, utilizing the joint theater-level simulation system (JTLS).
Using the JTLS, the exercise simulated a continuous 24-hour confrontation based on scenarios such as “gray zone” incursions and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) transitioning from an exercise to an actual full-scale invasion.
Photo: AP
Abrams, a former four-star general who served as commander of US forces in South Korea, was present at the military exercises, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported, adding that he served as an observer and senior adviser to Mei.
In response to media queries for confirmation, the ministry yesterday said only that military exchanges between Taiwan and the US are proceeding normally and that the ministry would not comment on individual cases.
When reached for comment, Chieh Chung (揭仲), a research fellow at the Association of Strategic Foresight, said that a senior US general serving as an adviser during an exercise indicates that military exchanges between Taiwan and the US have been upgraded to the point where both sides have started to coordinate plans.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Military News Agency
Institute for National Defense and Security Research research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said that in the past, US representatives have participated in the Han Kuang exercises as observers, playing a neutral role within the war simulation and offering suggestions during the review, but this time, the US directly advised the commander of the defending force, symbolizing its joint participation in defending against China, emphasizing that this has far-reaching implications.
In related news, 38 out of 108 M1A2T tanks purchased from the US arrived in Taiwan at the end of last year and would be put into service in the second half of this year after passing various tests.
Military personnel yesterday said that US representatives would be invited to attend the commissioning ceremony of Taiwan’s first M1A2T tank.
There is also a possibility of inviting descendants of famed US army general Creighton Williams Abrams Jr to Taiwan for the event, they said.
The A in M1A stands for Abrams, named for the famous general, whose third son is Robert B. Abrams.
Additional reporting by Huang Chin-hsuan and Lo Tien-pin
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