The introduction of an “embedded reporter” mechanism in the Han Kuang exercises is part of ongoing efforts by the Ministry of National Defense to strike a balance between press freedom and operational security, an academic said yesterday.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), director of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s Defense Strategy and Resources Division, made the remarks after the ministry for the first time allowed reporters to embed with military units during the live-fire portion of the exercises, which started on Wednesday last week and run through Friday.
The mechanism, widely practiced by the US military and NATO, allows civilian journalists to be assigned to active-duty military units to cover operations firsthand.
Photo: Bloomberg, An Rong Xu
Previously, only selected media outlets were allowed to cover Taiwan’s military exercises from designated and restricted press areas.
A defense official previously told reporters in Taipei that the ministry is drawing on US and NATO experience to develop its own standard operating procedures for media coverage of military drills.
The ministry hopes embedded civilian journalists can provide firsthand and up-to-date coverage of the armed forces to domestic and international audiences to counter disinformation, while ensuring that confidential information related to deployments is not compromised, the official said.
Su said the new mechanism reflects the ministry’s effort to balance restricted press access with operational security.
Under long-standing US and NATO practices, embedded reporters are required to follow and sign operational security ground rules before deployment, he said.
Among those rules is a prohibition on disclosing the specific geographic locations of ongoing operations, with the primary aim of protecting the safety and security of military personnel and reporters, he said.
Violating such rules could compromise mission safety and result in the termination of a reporter’s embed status, Su said.
He compared the arrangement to journalists covering Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co or other high-tech companies, where reporters might also be required to comply with strict non-disclosure terms.
Before news reports are transmitted or published, designated military public affairs officers may review media products to flag potential violations of operational security ground rules, although the military must respect that the final decision on publication rests with the news organization, he added.
Su said he hopes the ministry will continue to improve and fine-tune the embedded reporter system and gradually develop an institutional framework that balances national defense security with press freedom.
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