The armed forces yesterday held anti-amphibious landing and critical infrastructure defense drills, followed by nighttime exercises on the second day of the annual Han Kuang military exercises.
The drills aim to test the military’s ability to repel a Chinese invasion.
Military Police in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area were dispatched at about midnight to respond to a simulated assault on key telecommunications facilities in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
The troops, traveling in Clouded Leopard eight-wheeled armored vehicles, passed through Zhongshan N Road and arrived at the telecommunications facilities in Shilin District’s (士林) Shipai (石牌) area, where they deployed to protect key infrastructure.
The Sixth Army Corps Guandu Command, which is responsible for defending the Port of Taipei and Tamsui River (淡水河), also deployed Clouded Leopard vehicles in a simulated defense against invading Chinese forces.
The drill was intended to test the military’s capability to protect the strategic location and the gateway to Taipei.
Meanwhile, in eastern Taiwan, the army’s Huadong Defense Command, which is responsible for defending Hualien and Taitung counties, mobilized 24 armored vehicles, including M60A3 tanks and Humvees, to conduct nighttime tactical maneuvers at about 4am.
The military vehicles transported personnel and equipment to designated tactical positions near Hualien Air Base to form a defensive line to eliminate enemy troops expected to invade the country from the east.
The Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s major war games involving all branches of the military, have been held annually since 1984 in the form of live-fire drills and computerized war games.
This year’s tabletop drills were held from April 23 to 30.
The Han Kuang exercises, the nation’s major war games, are to start today and run for five days. The drills are to include a military aircraft emergency takeoff and landing exercise on a regular roadway on Wednesday, featuring all three fighter jet models in Taiwan’s fleet, a military source said last week. The drill is to begin at 6:30am on a 3km section of Provincial Highway No. 1 in Pingtung County’s Jiadong Township (佳冬), and feature an Indigenous Defense Fighter, an F-16V, a Mirage 2000-5 and an E-2K Hawkeye early warning aircraft, the source said. The emergency landing and takeoff drill aims to
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