'Immediate response' drills Day 3 focuses on military engineers

Taipei, March 19 (CNA) Military engineers were mobilized to practice building and deploying counter-mobility obstacles to slow the movement of enemy forces in Taichung and Kaohsiung on Wednesday, as Taiwan's first-ever "immediate combat response" drills entered their third day.

Army engineer troops were seen deploying anti-tank hedgehogs, breakwater concrete blocks, concertina wire and booby traps at shores and access roads in the two cities to practice creating obstacles to slow down the advancement of enemy forces in the event of a full scale invasion, according to a Military News Agency report.

Meanwhile, in the offshore frontline island of Kinmen, the Army's Kinmen Defense Command on Wednesday held exercises to simulate firing 240mm M1 howitzers to defend against invading forces, according to MNA.

The drills, the first of their kind, are being conducted based on the assessment that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) could unexpectedly pivot military exercises or "gray zone" activities -- provocative or aggressive actions that fall just short of an open conflict -- near Taiwan into a real attack, a military source told local media on March 12.

Also Wednesday, the Ministry of National Defense released a series of photos showing troops closely monitoring PLA forces near Taiwan both in the sky and the open seas.

The photos showed Navy fast mine-laying boats operating in waters around Taiwan.

The photos also showed Kidd-class guided-missile destroyer Tso Ying (左營) and Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate Feng Jia (逢甲) monitoring PLA naval vessels, the Type 052C destroyer Changchun and Quzhou Type 054A frigate, respectively.