DEFENSE/Taiwan's military conducts chemical weapon decontamination drill

Taipei, Aug. 10 (CNA) Taiwan's military on Sunday conducted a nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) decontamination drill in eastern Taiwan as part of the ongoing live-fire segment of the country's annual Han Kuang military exercises.

The drill, which was held in Hualien County and mobilized armored vehicles and military personnel, was aimed at testing the armed forces' response to a simulated chemical weapons attack by a group of Chinese spies in Taiwan.

Under the scenario used, the spies managed to release toxic gases around multiple military positions in Hualien in an attempt to delay troops in eastern Taiwan from reinforcing forces defending the northern part of the island.

A CNA reporter embedded with the military witnessed firsthand the opening of a temporary decontamination station by troops from the Chemical Group within 30 minutes of receiving the order to do so.

Chemical Group soldiers were seen wearing Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear respirators while rigorously disinfecting tanks and armored vehicles according to designated procedures.

The decontamination procedures included identifying contaminated areas and detecting toxic substances before removing hazardous materials, first with hot water and then with decontamination powder.

Vehicles also had to drive through a decontamination pit filled with cleansing materials to remove toxic agents from their undersides.

Before allowing the armored vehicles to leave, soldiers used detection papers and instruments to double-check that they no longer contained contaminated materials.

It took eight to 10 minutes for each armored vehicle to complete the decontamination process.

The annual Han Kuang exercises, which have served as Taiwan's largest-scale war games since 1984, are aimed at testing the country's combat readiness in the event of a possible Chinese invasion.

The large-scale exercises are held in two stages. This year's edition of the tabletop war games was conducted from April 11 to 24, while the live-fire portion is set to run from Aug. 5 to 14.