The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday announced that the annual joint-force Hankuang No. 16 exercise will take place in northern parts of the island in mid-August.
The exercise will involve computer-based war games instead of the large-scale troop maneuvers initially planned.
Deputy Chief of the General Staff, General Wang Han-ning (
"The exercise, to be held in mid-August, is to consist of three main components: computer war gaming between command posts, simulation by computer of troop deployments of battalion size or above in a theater of war, and actual field operations of two groups of troops against each other," Wang said.
"The planning for the exercise is mainly based on scenarios of attacks by the enemy [the Chinese]," he added.
Wang was quoted by a lawmaker and Defense Committee member as having said in the legislature that: "The exercise is also expected to examine whether faults found with last year's Hankuang No. 15 exercise can be corrected. It will highlight the importance of inter-service communication, preparations against precision strikes, anti-ballistic missile attack strategies, information warfare and special force operations."
A defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said this year's Hankuang exercise is to take place in northern parts of the island, covering Miaoli, Hsinchu and Taoyuan Counties.
Troops to be mobilized for the drill are mainly from two combined arms brigades based in Hsinchu, the official said.
There were initial plans for live-fire shooting in the exercise, but they were dropped to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings at a time when the situation in the Taiwan Strait remains tense, the official said.
The military leadership will still invite President Chen Shui-bian (
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