(Taipei) Taiwan kicked off its annual live-fire military drills on Monday, revamped this year, in which the island will simulate its defense against a potential Chinese attack.
The five-day “Han Kuang” exercises are held annually to prepare the Taiwanese military for a potential invasion from China, which claims the island as part of its territory.
But this year’s edition will differ from previous ones: the Taiwanese army will no longer carry out exercises “for demonstration purposes”, said the new Taiwanese Minister of Defense Wellington Koo.
Until now, it has been carrying out live-fire operations on the main island, to which the press has been invited.
Officials said such exercises would now take place on Taiwan’s outer islands, where Chinese warships and jets have been moving closer in recent months, and that troops would now take part in “impromptu” drills.
“The situation is more worrying than before. This type of exercise intended for communication is useless for [améliorer] “Our preparedness,” said conflict expert Ou Sifu of Taiwan’s National Defense and Security Research Institute, referring to previous editions’ stagings.
According to him, the minister “is putting pressure on our conservative military to force them to conduct more realistic exercises adapted to a real war.”
He abolished goose-stepping and bayonet training for the army, claiming they were ineffective in modern situations.
Another major change is the new decentralized command structure that will be piloted this year, aimed at preparing the Taiwanese military for “increasing complexity and uncertainties on the battlefield,” the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said.
Previously, Taiwanese troops were informed of each scenario in advance, according to military expert Su Tzu-yun. They will now have to react to events with “spontaneity.”
“This is more in line with reality,” he said, calling it “the most crucial point for Taiwan’s military reform.”
“This can improve the morale and self-confidence of the participating troops,” Su told AFP.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the Taiwanese navy had already carried out an “emergency departure” from the northern coast of the island on Monday morning.
Other exercises are scheduled to take place later in the week, including in the eastern county of Hualien, which is home to an air base with F-16 fighter jets, and on Penghu Island in the Taiwan Strait separating the island from mainland China.
“Catastrophic consequences”
These military maneuvers come two months after the inauguration of the new Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te, described by Beijing as a “dangerous separatist.”
In recent years, China has stepped up military and political pressure on Taiwan, while also beefing up its rhetoric, speaking of a “unification” that is “inevitable.”
Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have further increased following Lai Ching-te’s inauguration on May 20.
Three days after he was sworn in, Beijing carried out major military exercises around Taiwan, mobilizing military ships and planes loaded with live ammunition, claiming that it was “severe punishment” against “separatists.”
Alongside these shows of force around the autonomous territory, China has this year increasingly sent coast guard vessels around islands near Taiwan.
Because of the frequency of these maneuvers, the Taiwanese military could become “less responsive,” warns Richard Hu, a retired general and military expert at National Chengchi University.
“The cooked frog syndrome” [accoutumance, NDLR] “could have catastrophic consequences the day the People’s Republic of China decides to launch a full-scale invasion of Taiwan,” he told AFP.
Japan has reportedly concluded that a land landing in Taiwan by Chinese troops would now be “possible in less than a week,” instead of the previous estimate of a month.
It is “extremely important” for Taiwan to accelerate its defense reforms, said Amanda Hsiao of the International Crisis Group, as the Taiwanese military faces two threats: the “daily challenges of Chinese military pressure” and a potential invasion by China.
“Without a clear vision, Taiwan risks being ill-prepared to deal with both types of threats,” the expert said.
Asked about the moves, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that “any attempt to increase independence by force or resist unification by force is doomed to failure.”