Wed, Jul 12, 2023 page1

• MND outlines Han Kuang drills’ focus

  WANAN: Aside from mock battles, the exercises will include mobilizing firefighters, police and reservists to secure key infrastructure and facilitate materiel acquisition

  • By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNA
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  This year’s Han Kuang military exercises would focus on homeland defense, force preservation and civil-military coordination, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.

  The main goals of the exercises from July 24 to 29 are to enhance capabilities pertaining to troop preservation, naval interdiction operations, escort operations and homeland defense, said Major General Lin Wen-huang (林文皇), head of the ministry’s joint operations planning section.

  The wargames starting on July 25 would simulate an attack on the nation by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Taiwanese military’s efforts to preserve its forces, he said.

  

  An F-16V jet takes off from Taitung Fengnian Airport yesterday in preparation for Han Kuang exercises to be held at the airport on July 25.

  Photo: CNA

  Taiwan would respond by ordering all naval vessels to immediately leave port and move some air force assets — including F-16V jets and C-130H cargo planes — to the Jiashan Air Force Base in Hualien, he said.

  This would be followed by days of mock battles, including a simulated PLA airborne attack on Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, which is to be held on-site, he said.

  On July 27, a two-day anti-amphibious landing drill is to commence around the mouth of the Tamsui River (淡水河), Bali (八里) beaches and New Taipei City’s Port of Taipei, Lin said.

  A simulated counteroffensive is to be conducted throughout the remaining days of the exercise, he said.

  These drills serve the additional purpose of generating data that will be used to check computer-based simulations’ underlying factors to ensure the accuracy of computer war games, he said.

  Naval drills would test the services’ capability to conduct joint warfare to break the blockade of hostile forces and keep sea lanes open, Lin said.

  Additionally, the Han Kuang exercises would simulate many actions the military would have to perform during the transition from peace to war, he said.

  The scope of these activities encompasses moving aircraft to fortified bases, deploying ground forces in a manner that preserves their combat power, battlefield management, and creating command and control facilities, he said.

  This also includes the deployment of mobile air defenses, mine-laying and rocket artillery vehicles and calling up reservist units, Lin said.

  The exercises would also feature joint operations by sea, air and army coastal defense forces, anti-blockade operations, distributed command and control, and the provision of fuel, maintenance, repair and refueling by the nation’s defense industries, he said.

  The nation’s political center and other key infrastructure would be defended against mock aggressors during the exercise, Lin added.

  The homeland security portion of the exercises includes defending the nation’s political centers and key infrastructure, emergency medical aid for casualties, and utilizing civilian capabilities, he said.

  The Wanan exercises are to include mobilizing police, firefighters and reservists, efficiency in materiel acquisition, and securing key infrastructure, Lin said, adding that logistics practices would include forward deployment and dispersing stockpiles in multiple positions.

  The drills are to test participants’ ability to identify strong structures that can be used as logistics hubs, field repair facilities or hospitals, he said.

  In other news, the ministry yesterday said it is legal for Taiwan to deploy cluster munitions against military targets, after the US’ pledge to provide Ukraine with shells containing bomblets sparked controversy in the West.

  The Han Chien air-to-ground cruise missile is a cluster munition currently used by the nation to arm fighter jets.

  When asked, Major General Wu Yi-sheng (吳逸聖), who heads the ministry’s human rights section, said that cluster munitions are banned by the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but Taiwan, China, Russia and the US are not signatories to the treaty.

  Since the convention only applies to its signatories, Taiwan is not bound by it, Wu said, adding that the Law of Armed Conflict, which the nation does abide by, mentions nothing about cluster munitions.

  “So long as Taiwan uses cluster munitions against military targets, we are within bounds of the Law of Armed Conflict,” he said.

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