The armed forces yesterday held a major live-fire drill in Pingtung County, weeks after the Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration was accused of being soft on national defense for not using live ammunition during the Han Kuang series of exercises in April.
The Lien Yung exercise, which Ma attended, was held at the Tri-Service Joint Training Base at Paolishan (保力山) in Henchun (恆春), Pingtung County, the nation’s only base for live-fire exercises of this magnitude.
In all, 935 members from the army, air force and navy took part in the drill, which involved F-16A/B aircraft, AH-1W attack helicopters, OH-58D reconnaissance helicopters, CM-11 battle tanks, M109 howitzers and Javelin anti-tank missiles, as well as a variety of grenade launchers and rifles, all aimed at targets on the flank of the mountain.
Photo: CNA
The 584th Armored Brigade, based in Hukou Township (湖口), Hsinchu County, and the 601st Air Cavalry Brigade, based in Longtan Township (龍潭), Taoyuan County, comprised the bulk of the forces.
During the operation, a Knox-class frigate set up a naval air defense perimeter at sea.
The Lien Yung exercise, one of three tri-services exercises held routinely, takes place on a rotational basis every 18 months, following five weeks of training. Yesterday’s event was the culmination of the 584th’s training.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
A military official told the Taipei Times after the exercise that media disapproval of the absence of live-fire exercises during Han Kuang in April was the main reason reporters had been invited to attend Lien Yung.
Ma and the military maintain that the decision to forgo live ammunition usage during Hang Kuang — the nation’s largest series of exercises — stemmed from regional safety considerations and efforts to minimize the inconvenience caused to local residents.
The official also said that live-fire exercises did take place during Han Kuang, but that those were not publicized.
This was the second time since Ma took office in 2008 that the media had been invited to attend the drill.
In a 10-minute speech following the exercise, which he deemed “admirable,” Ma reaffirmed his commitment to national defense through a three-pronged approach of institutional cross-strait rapprochement, the alignment of national defense and diplomacy, and further participation in the international community. He also said that in the next four years, Taiwan would continue to acquire weapons from abroad that it cannot develop domestically.
Ma’s remarks came as it is becoming increasingly clear that Taiwan will abandon its efforts to acquire 66 F-16C/Ds from the US.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant