CNA file photo

Taipei, April 22 (CNA) The computer-aided war games section of this year's Han Kuang military exercises, Taiwan's biggest annual military drill, kicked off Monday with a simulated invasion by Chinese forces.

The computerized war games will conclude on Friday, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

Following the war games, live-fire drills will be staged across the country from May 27-31, it added.

The 35th edition of the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan's most important war games, tests the combat capabilities of all branches of the armed forces in the face of the ongoing military threat from China.

The annual exercise is held in two stages: computer-aided war games, followed by nationwide live-fire drills.

Taiwan's military previously announced that it will stage an emergency aircraft takeoff and landing drill on a freeway as part of the live-fire section of the exercises.

Such drills are being staged for the first time since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May 2016, announced Major General Ye Gou-huei (葉國輝) of the defense ministry at a briefing in February.

The takeoff and landing exercise is expected to feature the nation's three main fighter aircraft -- the F-16 A/Bs, Mirage 2000-5s and Indigenous Defensive Fighters (IDFs) -- as well as E-2K airborne early warning aircraft, but the plan could still change, Ye said.

The drill, to be staged from 6:15 a.m. to 7:35 a.m. on the Huantan section of No. 1 National Freeway in Changhua County on May 28, will test the military's emergency response capabilities should the country's main airports be damaged during wartime, Ye added.

The drill was last held in September 2014 on the Minxiong section of the No. 1 National Freeway in Chiayi County.

These sections were chosen based on the military's coordination with the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau on maintenance of the roadway before the drill, including repaving to make sure it is flat, according to Ye.

Two other sections of Taiwan's main north-south No. 1 National Freeway are also designated emergency runways -- the Madou and Rende sections in Tainan.

Another emergency runway is located on the Ping-E Highway from eastern Pingtung County to Taitung County, according to the defense ministry.

Those sections were chosen due to their proximity to nearby airports, the ministry said.

(By Joseph Yeh)
Enditem/AW