President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday inspected troops stationed in northern Taoyuan during the ongoing live-fire segment of the Han Kuang series of exercises, as the largest annual drill entered its fifth day.
Accompanied by Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Lai, wearing a raincoat amid rain from Typhoon Dolphin, was briefed by the commander of a Taoyuan drill group about how the military is coordinating to counter a simulated Chinese invasion, the Presidential Office said in a statement.
The Taiwanese officials later observed a nearby site operated by the army’s 21st Artillery Command, where the Avenger Air Defense System was deployed.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
In a Facebook post, Lai thanked all the service members taking part in the Han Kuang series of exercises for performing their duties despite the heavy rain brought by Typhoon Dolphin.
He urged all personnel to take good care of themselves and their fellow service members, saying that the country is safer and more capable of defending itself with better preparation, as ensured by the Han Kuang exercises.
In Taipei, the Military Police Command, working with the city government, the Taipei City Police Department and Taipei Rapid Transit Corp, early yesterday held an exercise simulating the use of the MRT system to mobilize troops and equipment to defensive locations around the capital and conduct logistics supply missions.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying via Reuters
The drill is intended to bolster urban defense resilience and implement civil-military integration by having military units use public transportation systems to meet defensive needs, the command said in a statement.
In Penghu County, the newly established Navy Littoral Operations Command deployed its shore-based mobile anti-ship missile units, namely the Hsiung Feng II (Brave Wind II, 雄風二型) and Hsiung Feng III (Brave Wind III, 雄風三型).
The exercise was intended to test whether the land-based anti-ship missile batteries could be moved quickly to key locations to form an asymmetric defense network and fend off invading Chinese forces, the command said.
The annual Han Kuang exercises, which have served as Taiwan’s primary war games since 1984, are aimed at testing the country’s combat readiness in the event of a Chinese invasion.
The large-scale exercises are held in two stages. This year’s 42nd edition of the tabletop war games was conducted from April 11-24, with the live-fire portion set to run from Wednesday last week to Friday.
Typhoon Dolphin is expected to enter the East China Sea on Saturday and intensify rainfall in western regions over the weekend as the typhoon’s outer circulation sweeps across the sea north of Taiwan, independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said today. The eastern coast should prepare for extreme heat caused by downslope winds over the weekend, while southwesterly winds from Monday would bring localized heavy rain to the southwest, he said. As Typhoon Dolphin’s outer bands move past northern Taiwan over the next couple of days, northern, central and southern areas would experience showers tomorrow, he said. Rainfall over the weekend would lead to
Taiwan could issue a sea warning for Typhoon Dolphin as early as Friday afternoon if the storm maintains its current westward track, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the center of the typhoon was about 2,590km east of Taipei and moving west at 21kph, potentially bringing hazardous conditions to waters surrounding Taiwan by Saturday. Dolphin is expected to reach waters south of the Ryukyu Islands around Saturday, but its track beyond that remains highly uncertain, CWA forecaster Lin Ping-yu (林秉煜) said. The typhoon could either continue moving westward or veer northward, Lin said. A westward track would bring
STORM SEASON: A typhoon and two tropical storms currently forming are certainly making life exciting for those living the western Pacific, the CWA said One typhoon and two tropical storms are in the west Pacific, and a sea warning for Typhoon Dolphin could be issued as early as tomorrow afternoon as the storm closes on Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the center of the typhoon was about 1,680km east of Taipei and moving west at 20kph, the CWA said. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Kujia formed west of Luzon at 2am yesterday and is forecast to move east of the island before weakening and being absorbed by Typhoon Dolphin, the agency said. Steered by the Pacific high-pressure system, Dolphin is forecast to
EXPANSIONISM: Taiwan has established a cross-agency mechanism to share its experience with other nations to help build a united front against China, Joseph Wu said National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) has accused China of using its coast guard and other official vessels to threaten not only Taiwan, but the broader Indo-Pacific region. “The threat posed by China is toward the whole region,” Wu said in an English-language interview with Nikkei Asia published yesterday. The entire First Island Chain, stretching from Japan southward through Taiwan to the Philippines and Malaysia, is facing increasing maritime aggression, he said. Taiwan’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems have detected a significant increase in Chinese official vessel activity in the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the western Pacific and the South
RSS