Troops stationed on Penghu Islands early yesterday held an anti-landing drill featuring US-made Stinger and Javelin missile defense systems as part of the ongoing Han Kuang exercises.
Army Penghu Defense Command troops fired from the Dual Mount Stinger, a tripod-mounted launch platform for the Stinger missile, and used Javelin portable anti-tank missiles during the drill held on the beachfront.
Soldiers also fired a 155m cannon, 105mm guns and 120mm mortars during the hour-long drill. This served as covering fire to protect troops as M60A3 tanks and CM-21 armored vehicles advanced on the battlefield.
Photo: AP / Military News Agency
The drill was also supposed to include air force jets and naval vessels, but they were canceled due to an approaching typhoon.
Similar live-fire exercises were also held on the Matsu Islands.
Meanwhile, live-fire exercises were canceled in Kinmen, less than 10km from mainland China, as more than 30 merchant vessels were heading to Liaoluo Port (料羅港) so they could anchor and shelter from the typhoon.
Photo: AP / Ministry of National Defense
Major General Cheng Chieh-yuan (鄭傑元), a spokesman for the Kinmen Defense Command, said the exercises were called off due to the vessels being in the target area.
Yesterday was the third day of the five-day around-the-clock live-fire component of the 40th Han Kuang series of exercises that began on Monday.
Due to the approaching Typhoon Gaemi, which was forecast to bring heavy rain and strong winds to almost all of Taiwan yesterday and today, the Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that all exercises scheduled for the remaining days would be canceled to focus on typhoon disaster preparation.
Photo: AP / Military News Agency / Ministry of National Defense
Instead of holding ground drills, troops would hold tabletop war games, the ministry said.
The annual Han Kuang exercises, which have served as Taiwan’s major war games since 1984, consist of live-fire drills and computerized war games, and seek to test Taiwan’s combat readiness in the face of a possible Chinese invasion.
This year’s tabletop exercises were staged in April.
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS