The military yesterday simulated an invasion by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the first day of the annual five-day live-fire phase of the Han Kuang military exercises.
The Ministry of National Defense’s Joint Operations Command Center, also known as the Hengshan Command Center, ordered F-16V jets from Hualien Air Force Base to conduct emergency takeoffs in batches from 5:30am yesterday to defend the airspace along the east coast.
Some fighter jets based in western Taiwan were dispatched to Hualien as part of a simulation in which most of the nation’s military bases in the west were “destroyed.”
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
C-130 transport aircraft were used to take military personnel responsible for fighter jet maintenance, together with equipment and supplies, to designated locations in eastern Taiwan.
Naval vessels also set sail and troops practiced defense tactics as if they were being attacked by enemy planes or missiles.
The tabletop drills for the 38th edition of the Han Kuang exercises were carried out from May 16 to May 20, while the live-fire exercises are to conclude on Friday.
The live-fire exercises are divided into three parts — the military is to practice conserving its forces and air defense over the first two days, joint interception on the third day and joint territory defense on the last two days.
In related news, the Fisheries Agency posted a bulletin saying that the military and the Coast Guard Administration are to carry out a series of live-fire drills after the Han Kuang exercises are over.
Troops stationed in Penghu and Kinmen counties, and on Dongyin Island (東引) and the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) would conduct exercises next month and those stationed on Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) would do so in September, the bulletin said.
The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology canceled artillery tests in Taiwan’s southeastern sea and airspace on Wednesday and Thursday, but the artillery drill on Wednesday and Thursday next week would be carried out, it said.
The Army Matsu Defense Command would conduct exercises at night on Friday and Saturday next week, the Army Kinmen Defense Command would choose 11 days to conduct artillery exercises from Thursday next week to Aug. 31 and the Army Penghu Defense Command would carry out exercises in the Wude (五德) region on Aug. 24 and Aug. 25, it said.
The coast guard would be in charge of the artillery exercises on the Dongsha Islands on Saturday next week and Aug. 13, followed by the exercises on Taiping Island on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, it said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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