The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei.
At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel.
First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems.
Photo: EPA
Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give the exercise a score of “100 percent.”
Since taking leadership of the unit in May, Wang said he has followed the principle of “one day without war, one day without feeling at ease,” ensuring that participating personnel are sure of their roles.
In Tainan, the army’s 54th Engineer Group conducted a nighttime exercise in constructing defensive fortifications to block a potential enemy advance.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
The unit deployed “Czech hedgehogs,” moved abandoned vehicles into the roadway and installed razor wire barricades, among other measures, to make it difficult for enemy personnel and vehicles to pass.
Some drivers who passed by the area while soldiers set up the fortifications shouted words of encouragement.
It is important to test how quickly fortifications could be erected in a low-light environment, personnel said.
Photo: AFP
The site was cleared by 5am, they added.
In Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營), President William Lai (賴清德) observed a mine-laying exercise and provided personnel with extra meal money to encourage them and show appreciation for their work.
Chang Chia-ming (張家銘), from the navy’s 192nd Fleet’s mine operations squadron, told the president and other officials about the three different types of mines Taiwan uses, all domestically designed and produced.
Photo: CNA
The mines target enemy surface vessels and submarines, Chang said, adding that they are a “shield” for the country.
Mines are cheap to deploy, but expensive and time-consuming to remove as an invading force, Chang said, citing historic examples such as the Korean War and the 1991 Gulf War.
In Taipei, US-made FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills in the Taipei MRT system simulating a Chinese invasion.
The exercises featured military police carrying Stingers, machine guns, 40mm grenade launchers and anti-armor rockets, and were held between Shandao Temple Station and Longshan Temple Station, while the MRT system was closed to passengers.
The Ministry of National Defense said the exercises simulated Taiwanese troops using the MRT system to quickly reach a target area and engage the enemy.
Separately, the ministry said that 17 Chinese aircraft were monitored in the airspace around Taiwan between 6am yesterday and 6am today. Of the 17 aircraft, seven crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, it said.
A further eight naval vessels were also spotted in the waters around Taiwan, it added.
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