Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou, was on hand Wednesday for the country's largest-scale live-fire maritime drill in over a decade, held in waters off eastern Taiwan as part of the annual Han Kuang military exercises.The drill, held in waters off the eastern counties of Yilan and Hualien, consisted of maneuvers by 21 military ships and naval anti-submarine S-70C helicopters, accompanied by an Air Force P-3C anti-submarine aircraft and F-16A/B and F-5 fighter jets, according to the navy.
More than 2,000 members of the navy participated in the exercise, which included the firing of depth charges, 76 mm naval guns, 5-inch guns and other weapons from the participating frigates to fend off simulated attacks from enemy forces, it said.Ma watched the drill aboard a 10,500-ton Kidd-class destroyer, the Tso Ying. It was the first time President Ma had boarded a military ship to follow a maritime drill held in waters off Taiwan since he took office in May 2008.
The drill was open to the media, which was on board another Kidd-class destroyer, the Ma Kong. The Kidd-class is the largest in Taiwan's navy fleet.The four-hour drill started with air, surface and submarine attacks by the enemy. The navy responded by deploying a fleet comprised of various warships to counter the attacks.F-16 A/B fighter jets were used to simulate enemy aircraft and launch a missile attack, which the navy responded to with anti-missile warfare.
The navy also took part in a joint anti-submarine operation with the Air Force, with the P-3C aircraft and an S-70C helicopter deployed to identify the enemy submarine and force it to the surface.
The drill marked the first time a P-3C, which Taiwan took delivery of from the United States last year, was used in a Han Kuang drill, said defense ministry spokesperson Major General Luo Shou-he.
After the submarine maneuver, the participating ships launched a joint attack to fire naval guns at a simulated target.What followed was a maritime resupply operation conducted by the two-Kidd class destroyers, in which the Tso Ying delivered supplies to the Ma Kong–which was only 50 meters away–by a pulley system.The drill concluded with an F-16 fighter firing an AIM-9P4 Sidewinder missile at the simulated enemy approaching from the sea.
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