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.
‘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 High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
RSS