The annual Han Kuang exercises are to begin next month with live-fire, anti-landing exercises in outlying Penghu County, while the military is to simulate for the first time the combat capability of US-made F-35 jets in a cross-strait conflict scenario.
Like previous Hang Kuang exercises, this year’s consist of two parts — a computer simulation of an attack by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), followed by nationwide field exercises to test the results of the simulation, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
The first-stage simulation is to be conducted from May 1 to May 5 to simulate a PLA attack on Taiwan to test the military’s capabilities in countering landing operations and a naval blockade, as well as the ability to collect intelligence and preserve key military facilities and weaponry.
Photo: Tu Chu-min, Taipei Times
“The simulation will be conducted factoring in China’s military buildup, with three aircraft carriers, stealth fighter jets and new missiles to enter service by 2025,” said Lieutenant General Chiang Chen-chung (姜振中), director of the ministry’s Office for Operations and Planning.
“We will test two defense strategies. The first is conditioned on the acquisition of F-35 jets and the second without F-35s,” Chiang said.
Lockheed Martin F-35s are a desired procurement of the military, as their short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities, as well as their advanced stealth features, would allow the air force to retain combat capacity should air bases be destroyed.
It is to be the first time that F-35s are a factor in the exercises.
“In case we do not acquire F-35s, we are in the process of upgrading F-16s, Mirage 2000s and Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDF), as well as developing new weapons. The simulation will be based on realistic analysis, instead of fictitious war scenarios,” Chiang said.
The second-stage field exercises are to be held from May 22 to May 26, with a large-scale, live-fire drill to be conducted in Penghu.
The Marine Corps are to initiate a landing operation to simulate a PLA attack and test defensive troops’ ability to protect critical facilities and strategic positions. The armed forces will then launch a joint operation to retake the Penghu archipelago.
Units and weapons to be engaged during the field exercises include Cheng Kung-class frigates, Chinchiang-class corvettes, Tuo Jiang-class corvettes, F-16 jets, IDF jets, AH-64E Apaches, AH-1H Super Cobras, RT2000 Artillery Multiple Launch Rocket systems, M60A3 tanks and light weapons.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is expected to supervise the exercises, ministry spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS