(CNA file photo)

Taipei, May 14 (CNA) The live-fire phase of the annual Han Kuang military exercises will kick off May 22 and include a simulation on May 26 of an attack on Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in central Taiwan by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA). The exercise aims to test the military's combat and defense capabilities.

As in previous years, the 33rd annual Han Kuang drills are divided into two parts: computer-simulated war games and live-fire exercises.

The computer war games began on May 1 and concluded on May 5. The live-fire drills will take place from May 22-26 and involve all three branches of the military -- Army, Navy and Air Force -- to test their coordinated response to simulated threats from China, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

One of the live-fire drills will be held May 25 on the outlying islands of Penghu in the Taiwan Strait, which will simulate a scenario in which the PLA launches an amphibious landing on Penghu, while the ROC armed forces undertake a joint operation to repel them and retake the area.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is expected to be present to observe the drill on Penghu.

A simulation in which the military forces fend off a blitzkrieg attack by PLA forces on Ching Chuan Kang Air Base will be conducted on May 26.

Some of Taiwan's most advanced weapons systems are to be deployed as part of the drill to protect Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, including two Mirage 2000s which will take off from Hsinchu Air Base, four indigenous Defense Fighters (IDF) from Tainan Air Base and four F-16s from Hualien, according to the ministry.

In addition, the Coast Guard Administration is scheduled to hold a defensive drill on Taiping Island, also known as Itu Aba, the largest island in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) from May 24-26.

(By Lu Hsin-hui and Evelyn Kao)
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