The ongoing Han Kuang military drills entered their sixth day today, with units simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying anti-ship mines in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei.
At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel.
First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) personally led the combined armed troops in countermeasures, utilizing a variety of weapons systems.
Photo: CNA
Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would score the exercise “100 percent.”
Since taking leadership of the unit in May, Wang said he has followed the principle of “one day without war, one day without feeling at ease,” ensuring that participating personnel are sure of their roles.
In Tainan, the army’s 54th Engineer Group conducted a nighttime exercise in constructing defensive fortifications to block a potential enemy advance.
The unit deployed “Czech hedgehogs,” moved abandoned vehicles into the roadway and installed razor wire barricades, among other measures, to make it difficult for enemy personnel and vehicles to pass.
Some drivers who passed by the area while soldiers set up the fortifications shouted words of encouragement.
It is important to test how quickly fortifications could be erected in a low-light environment, personnel said.
The site was cleared by 5am, they added.
In Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營), President William Lai (賴清德) observed a mine-laying exercise and provided personnel with extra meal money to encourage them and show appreciation for their work.
Chang Chia-ming (張家銘), from the navy’s 192nd Fleet's mine operations squadron, told the president and other officials about the three different types of mines Taiwan uses, all domestically designed and produced.
The mines target enemy surface vessels and submarines, Chang said, adding that they are a “shield” for the country.
Mines are cheap to deploy, but expensive and time-consuming to remove as an invading force, Chang said, citing historic examples such as the Korean War and the 1991 Gulf War.
In Taipei, US-imported FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills in the Taipei Metro simulating a Chinese invasion.
The exercises featured Military Police troops carrying Stingers, machine guns, 40mm grenade launchers and anti-armor rockets, and were held between Shandao Temple Station and Longshan Temple Station while the metro was closed to passengers.
The Ministry of National Defense said the exercises simulated Taiwanese troops using the metro system to quickly reach a target area and engage the enemy.
Separately, the ministry said that 17 Chinese aircraft were monitored in the airspace around Taiwan between 6am yesterday and 6am today.
Of the 17 aircraft, seven crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, it said.
A further eight naval vessels were also spotted in the waters around Taiwan, it added.
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