Tainan’s Sishu Beach (喜樹海灘) is to host its first large-scale artillery exercise, amid the rapid acceleration of the military’s combat training at so-called “red beaches” to enhance defense capabilities, a source said yesterday.
Sishu Beach, in Tainan’s South District (南區), is south of Anping Harbor (安平港), north of Kaohsiung, and is 5km away from the Tainan Air Force Base, making it a critical defensive zone.
The planned exercise is a milestone for defense policy, as it shows the military is accelerating its defense preparations and moving beyond smaller-scale exercises to focus on preventing enemy forces from landing, the source said.
Photo: Screen grab from Facebook page of the Ministry of National Defense’s spokesman
Previously, military exercises near Taiwan’s “red beaches,” or beach fronts that are at high risk of amphibious assult by the People’s Liberation Army in the event of an invasion of Taiwan, were only small-arms exercises involving rifles or pistols, the source said.
The Eighth Army Corps and the Artillery Training Command held an explanatory meeting at the Sishu Regional Community Center for Tainan City Government representatives, regional borough wardens, Fishery Association members and Oyster Growing Association members, saying the military would enforce strict observation of security measures to ensure the disturbance to local activities is kept to a minimum.
The definition of “red beaches” is somewhat uncertain, with three separate versions provided by the Ministry of National Defense (MND), US think tanks and the MND’s own think tank — the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR).
The ministry said there are four likely beaches that could be targeted in the event of a Chinese invasion: Baodoucuo Beach (寶斗厝海灘), Haihu Beach (海湖海灘), Jianan Beach (甲南海灘) and Sishu Beach.
Ian Easton, an American security policy analyst, said in his book The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan’s Defense and American Strategy in Asia that, based on local geography, there were 14 potential landing beaches: Jhongjiao Bay (中角灣) and Sialiao (下寮) in New Taipei City’s Jinshan District (金山); Feitsuei Bay (翡翠灣) in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里); Fulong (福隆) in Gongliao Township (貢寮); Toucheng (頭城); Linkou (林口) in New Taipei City; Jhuangwei (壯圍), Lodong (羅東) and Yilan (宜蘭灘) in Yilan County; Budai (布袋) in Chiayi County; Linyuan (林園) and Jialutang (加祿堂) in Kaohsiung and Lujhu (蘆竹) in Taoyuan.
These 14 beaches have also been included in the Han Kuang exercises in the past few years.
The INDSR’s definition of “red beaches” incorporats all of these sites, as well as Beibin (北濱) and the Meilun River estuary (美崙溪口) in Hualien County, Jhihben (知本) in Taitung County, and beaches on the outlying islands of Penghu.
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