The Republic of China Army’s elite “Frogmen” unit on Kinmen Island (金門) demonstrated they are capable of undertaking dangerous missions and repelling enemy attacks, as the nation’s armed forces prepared defensive deployments for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.
In yesterday’s drills for inspection by Ministry of National Defense (MND) officials, the Army 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB 101) “Frogmen” unit strutted their stuff to display their martial arts and other close-combat skills, weapons training, explosives demolition and stealth amphibious landing skills.
The elite soldiers braved high waves in the cold coastal waters of Kinmen Island during their simulation of storming a beach via rubber boats and attacking shoreline fortifications.
Photo: WALLY SANTANA, AP
MND spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said the inspection was for officials to ensure the armed forces are vigilant over the security of the nation during the Lunar New Year holidays.
ARB 101 units are deployed along the front-line islands, with their main base at Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣) in Kinmen’s southeast, and other companies stationed at Matsu’s (馬祖) Nangan (南竿) and Dongying (東引) islets, as well as on Penghu’s Siyu Islet (西嶼).
At the ARB 101 base, the specially trained soldiers displayed their frogman suits for diving, breathing apparatus and other equipment, along with field camouflage and weapons such as T91 rifles and M107 scoped sniper rifles.
Lee Han-sheng (李瀚生), a seargent who heads a sniper company at the ARB 101 base, said he would patrol Kinmen and the nearby islets for the defense of the nation’s front line, which is close to China’s Xiamen City and Fujian Province coastline, to protect Taiwanese during the Lunar New Year holiday period.
A university graduate who enlisted as a professional soldier, Lee said training for amphibious combat was difficult, especially enduring the cold ocean temperatures during winter.
“Although we had frogman suits on, our extremities became numb after a while in the cold water,” Lee said.
“At times it was quite painful, as if our hands were being pricked by many needles. However, with more training, we got used to the conditions and our bodies toughened up,” he said.
“I chose the military” because it is an honor to serve my country, and I feel proud to protect my homeland and the citizens of our nation,” Lee said.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS