Fri, Sep 05, 2003 page1

• Largest wargames pass with hitches

  NATIONAL DEFENSE The presence of two foreign spy ships and a defective torpedo marred military exercises held in Ilan and watched by the president

  • By Brian Hsu / STAFF REPORTER
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  Two foreign spy ships sailing near Taiwan prompted the military to cancel the firing of a French-made Mica medium-range air-to-air missile during the Hankuang exercises in northeastern Ilan yesterday.

  The military announced the decision during the exercises, which were watched by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).

  During the country's largest ever live-fire wargames yesterday, the military staged a mock invasion by Chinese forces and fired its most sophisticated missiles and high-tech weaponry.

  

  A squadron of US-made F16 fighter jets, right, and locally made Indigenous Defense Fighters fly in formation as they drop flares during the Hankuang 19 exercise in Ilan County yesterday.

  PHOTO: AP

  "The defense forces in the Ilan area were deployed to simulate the People's Liberation Army's tactics and operational schemes of cross-strait operations," the military said.

  Military officials said nearly all the nation's modern weaponry, including 44 jet fighters, was mobilized in the 110-minute drill, which involved 6,000 soldiers.

  "The Chinese communists have expanded their military strength in recent years, striving to develop the ability to project their navy and air forces ... posing a serious threat to our national security," Chen said.

  

  A warship launches a missile during the annual Hankuang exercises yesterday.

  PHOTO: REUTERS

  He warned that, should war break out, China would use high-tech weaponry to paralyze Taiwan's military command, bunkers and major government establishments.

  While the exercises were underway, the military detected the presence of spy ships from China and Japan. The military said it cancelled the firing of the Mica to stop the ships from collecting electronic information about it.

  "The enemy has been trying everything it can to collect the electronic factors of our weaponry," army Lieutenant General Hu Chen-pu (胡鎮埔) told reporters. "We should not expose this crucial information. It was for this reason, we had to cancel the firing of Mica missile."

  The military did not explain where the Chinese and Japanese spy ships were detected but the wargames' organizers said the 34 navy ships deployed would prevent the spy ships from coming any closer.

  The navy also had problems with a torpedo fired from one of its two Dutch-made submarines.

  Before the torpedo reached the target ship, a decommissioned Yang-class destroyer, the navy announced that it had detonated it because of what it said were "safety concerns."

  After the exercise, the navy said that the torpedo had gone out of control after the wire that connected it to the submarine broke.

  Navy deputy chief of staff Rear Admiral Yeh Chu (葉巨), speaking at a press conference, said the torpedo was recovered yesterday evening at a coastal site around 15km from the exercise zone.

  "We have experienced similar problems during the test firing of torpedoes before. But the chances of such an occurrence are usually less than 10 percent," Yeh said.

  The torpedo was thought to be a US-made Mk-48, which is the best of its kind in the world.

  Rumors have circulated for many years that the navy has bought a large number of Mk-48 torpedoes.
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