The armed forces today conducted the second day of drills in the annual Han Kuang military exercises, featuring a live-fire tank firing exercise and a simulated invasion by Chinese warships.
In Hsinchu County, President William Lai (賴清德) visited the Kengzikou Range (坑子口訓練場) to monitor a live-fire exercise.
The exercise involved a platoon of M1A2T tanks Taiwan purchased from the US, which saw them practice firing individually, in pairs and as a full platoon.
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
Following the drill, the Army said the tanks achieved perfect firing accuracy.
Lai praised the tanks’ performance and said that the more the armed forces train during peacetime, the more secure Taiwan would be and the more stable the region would remain.
The Navy’s anti-ship Littoral Combatant Command deployed several vessels to the north and south of Taiwan equipped with Hsiung Feng III missiles.
The command coordinated with Marine Corps units to deploy the missiles and set up camouflage, practicing their rapid response capabilities.
As more missiles are produced, along with more arms purchases of anti-ship missiles from the US, it is likely that the number of squadrons in the command would increase from the current number of 13.
For missiles on land, a source familiar with the armed forces’ plans said that the army would launch Patriot missiles from a public location in northern Taiwan this weekend.
The source said that although the location is not close to either Songshan Airport or Taoyuan Airport, the missiles’ full capability to prevent enemy attacks against key areas would be on display.
At 8am this morning, the Navy stationed two Tuo Chiang-class ships, the An Chiang (安江) and Ta Chiang (塔江艦) in Hualien where they are on standby monitoring Chinese naval movements to the east of Taiwan.
It is important to maintain monitoring capabilities to the east, defense officials said, adding that this is vital to verify the Coast Guard Administration’s ability to transition from peacetime to war operations.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense said that in the 24-hour period from 6am yesterday to 6am today, 12 Chinese military planes and seven vessels were detected around Taiwan and in the Taiwan Strait, with 10 of the planes crossing the median line.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu and Yu Tai-lang
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