The army is currently holding a two-week exercise in northern Taiwan that is being observed by a visiting US military delegation, defense sources said. It is being held in part to evaluate the nation's future defense needs.
The exercise, code-named "Vanguard," kicked off last Monday and is schedule to run for another week.
The exercises will enter their second-phase today, which highlights the mobilization of troops and their use of combat skills in the field.
The first phase of the drill, completed on Friday, included the US military delegation visiting a variety of army units in northern Taiwan to gain a general understanding of the army's logistics capabilities.
An army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the "Vanguard" exercise is aimed at helping the US military understand what kinds of weapons will help Taiwan meet its future defense needs.
"We hope the US military will understand that the Taiwanese army has the ability to handle high-tech weaponry. This is the reason why we allowed the US military delegation to visit a wide range of army units in northern Taiwan. We want them to know our actual logistical capabilities," the army official said.
"One of the weapons systems that we strongly urge the US military to sell us is the AH-64D Apache attack helicopter. We hope the US military will understand through the `Vanguard' exercise that we need the Apache," the official said.
The official revealed that the "Vanguard" exercise will become the basis for a "net assessment" report that the visiting military delegation will write after its return to the US.
Net assessment is an evaluation method adopted by the US military to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a country's military. It seeks to evaluate by using both qualitative and quantitative factors.
The net assessment report to be written on Taiwan is expected to weigh heavily on the US Pentagon's decisions concerning the sales of weapons to Taiwan's army in the years to come, the army official said.
Last year, the US military sent similar delegations to Taiwan to evaluate the air force and navy's weaponry needs, the official said.
This year, the US military is focusing its attention solely on the army because next year will be its turn to request major weapons systems from the US, he said.
The "Vanguard" exercise is an unusual drill for the army in that it has been arranged specifically for the visiting delegation.
This week's exercise will involve a variety of army units in northern Taiwan, including infantry, armor, artillery, communication and missile units.
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