DEFENSE/Han Kuang Day 6: Taiwan military tests civilian trucks for tank transport

Taipei, Aug. 10 (CNA) Taiwan's armed forces tested their ability to mobilize transportation resources overnight from Sunday to Monday by using commercial flatbed trucks to transport tanks during a cross-regional reinforcement exercise in eastern Taiwan.

The drill was designed to test civilian-military coordination and accelerate the movement of armored vehicles to reinforce defenses against a simulated attack.

The scenario assumed that northern Taiwan had come under attack, prompting a Combined Arms Battalion based in Hualien County to reinforce defenses in neighboring Yilan County to the northeast.

The main objective was to transport military vehicles from Hualien to Yilan overnight using civilian flatbed trailers. Around 70 civilian flatbed trucks and M60A3 tanks were mobilized for the exercise.

These tanks were loaded onto the trucks and transported from Hualien to Yilan via Provincial Highway 9 and the Suhua Highway along Taiwan's east coast.

After arriving at a designated assembly area in Yilan early Monday, the tanks were unloaded using civilian cranes before moving to nearby strategic positions. The transport exercise lasted about five hours.

The battalion continued the exercise Monday morning, simulating the defense of Yilan's coast against an enemy force.

Soldiers and M60A3 tanks were deployed along roads leading to a nearby port, a key objective for the simulated enemy.

Troops first deployed red smoke grenades to provide a visual warning for aerial and ground reconnaissance teams monitoring the advancing enemy.

The aerial reconnaissance team used tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to track enemy movements, while the ground reconnaissance team fired blank rounds to slow the simulated advance. M60A3 tanks then moved into position to block the enemy's advance toward the port.

The annual Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan's largest-scale war games since 1984, are intended to test the country's combat readiness in the event of a possible Chinese invasion.

The exercises are held in two phases. This year's tabletop war games were held April 11-24, while the live-fire portion is taking place Aug. 5-14.