Anti-landing exercises were conducted at multiple locations across Taiwan on Thursday during the annual Han Kuang war games. Beating back a beach landing is a vital part of island defense in the event of a Chinese attack. In Pingtung, Tainan, and Hualien, cannons rang out throughout the day as soldiers conducted live-fire combat drills.
On Day 4 of the Han Kuang war games, the armed forces conducted joint anti-landing exercises nationwide. At Pingtung’s Manfeng training range, bursts of artillery rang out during combat drills.
Ground troops stand ready for battle, with 50 self-propelled artillery and howitzers lined up against the mock enemy. Their artillery included the M110 and M109, as well as the 155 mm howitzer system. During the anti-landing exercise, soldiers beat back an enemy force that surfaced 7 kilometers off the coast.
Artillery crew occupied positions surrounding Fenggang Village, to block an enemy crossing. They launched various munitions to engage the invaders on the open sea. Over in Tainan, soldiers concealed Sishu Beach in a smokescreen operation.
At Hualien County’s Beipu Beach, another anti-landing combat drill. Eighty troops with four M60A3 Patton tanks and two armored personnel carriers maneuvered under cover. The Army''s 601st Aviation Brigade deployed Apache helicopters in support.
The day before, President Tsai Ing-wen went down to Pingtung County to inspect an emergency landing drill. During a briefing at the site, she was shown photographs of a Chinese H-6 bomber. The Presidential Office said later that the photos were taken by a Taiwanese F-16 at a distance of 5 kilometers during an interception. It said the F-16 was able to capture closeups of the aircraft and its weapon mounts.