The armed forces yesterday conducted the second day of drills in the annual Han Kuang military exercises, featuring a live-fire tank firing exercise and a simulated invasion by Chinese warships.
In Hsinchu County, President William Lai (賴清德) monitored a live-fire exercise at the Kengzikou Range (坑子口訓練場) involving a platoon of M1A2T tanks purchased from the US.
The tanks fired individually, in pairs and as a full platoon.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Following the drill, the army said that the tanks had achieved “perfect” accuracy.
Lai praised the display and said that the more the armed forces train during peacetime, the more secure Taiwan would be and the more stable the region would remain.
The navy’s anti-ship Littoral Combatant Command deployed several vessels to the north and south of Taiwan equipped with Hsiung Feng III (雄風三型, “Brave Wind III”) missiles.
Photo: EPA
The command coordinated with Marine Corps units to deploy the missiles and set up camouflage, practicing their rapid response capabilities.
As more missiles are produced, along with more purchases of anti-ship missiles from the US, it is likely that the number of squadrons in the command would increase from the current 13.
For missiles on land, a source familiar with the armed forces’ plans said that the army would launch Patriot missiles from a public location in northern Taiwan this weekend.
Photo: Reuters
Although the location is not close to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) or Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the missiles’ full capability to prevent enemy attacks against key areas would be on display, the source said.
At 8am yesterday, the navy stationed two Tuo Chiang-class ships, the An Chiang (安江) and the Ta Chiang (塔江艦), off Hualien County, where they are on standby monitoring Chinese naval movements to the east of Taiwan.
It is important to maintain monitoring capabilities to the east, defense officials said, adding that this is vital to verify the Coast Guard Administration’s ability to transition from peacetime to war operations.
Photo: Cheng Chin-hsi, Taipei Times
The Ministry of National Defense said that in the 24-hour period to 6am yesterday, 12 Chinese military planes and seven vessels were detected around Taiwan or in the Taiwan Strait, with 10 of the planes crossing the median line of the waterway.
Air-raid drills were held at three PX Mart Co (全聯實業) supermarkets in Taipei, Taichung and Tainan as part of the Urban Resilience Exercises, which began earlier this month.
Yesterday’s urban exercises, organized by the National Police Agency (NPA), and involving PX Mart employees and members of the public, began at 10am with an alarm, after which shoppers were guided by PX Mart staff to a designated shelter area within the stores and instructed to kneel with their hands covering their heads, the NPA said.
Photo: EPA
The Taipei drill was attended by several officials, including Deputy Minister of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆).
The drills also simulated scenarios such as calming panicked shoppers and administering basic first aid, with the goal of helping the public learn to protect themselves and assist others during emergencies, the NPA said.
It was the first time PX Mart had partnered with the government for such drills.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu and Yu Tai-lang
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