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.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
The government yesterday donated US$200,000 to the Philippines to support post-earthquake relief and recovery efforts, following a powerful magnitude 6.9 quake that struck Cebu Province late last month, killing at least 72 people and injuring 559 others. The donation was presented earlier yesterday by Representative to the Philippines Wallace Chow (周民淦) to Cherbett Maralit, deputy resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, at Taiwan’s representative office in Manila. In his remarks, Chow expressed concern for those affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the central Philippines on the night of Sept. 30. "We sincerely hope for the earliest possible
RSS