Taiwan Information Service, Legislators blasted the annual computerized military simulation on Thursday, saying that the Ministry of National Defense was taking advantage of the military exercises to promote the arms procurement package that is currently languishing in the Legislature.
The MND noted, however, that the armed forces had made remarkable progress and defeated China in the simulation. MND Deputy Minister Chu Kai-sheng gave a report on the results of the computerized “Hankuang No. 22” military exercises, held from April 24 to 28, to the Legislature's National Defense Committee, but lawmakers were dissatisfied with it.
The MND simulated various scenarios in a five-day military exercise meant to simulate countermeasures against an attack from China's People's Liberation Army.
These included defenses against the PLA employing a shock-decapitative strategy, assassinating President Chen Shui-bian and disrupting Taiwan's governmental communication systems.
MND officials claimed the successful military drill was based on effective coordination between the Air force and Navy, adding that the newly commissioned Kidd-class destroyers from the U.S. had contributed to the computerized military drill.
The MND did not say how many people were killed or wounded in the simulation, but legislators quoted reports that said some 30,000 people would be killed or wounded in the scenario.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher said the MND did not contemplate the possible effect on Taiwanese morale due to the number of those killed or wounded in the simulation.
Kuomintang Legislator Wu Ching-chih said that once China had used its some 900 missiles, Taiwan's citizens would pressure the government into surrendering. Although Taiwan won against China by narrow margin, he questioned whether the nation would survive.
KMT Legislator Liao Wan-ju criticized the MND for only focusing on how to cope with the PLA's decapitative mission where its forces had been centralized in northern Taiwan in the simulation. If China attacks central or southern Taiwan, the nation would not be able to defend itself successfully, she said.
People First Party Legislator Ku Chung-lien said that the MND did not give a detailed explanation of the results of the war game, demanding the ministry disclose the full details of the drill to the public as soon as possible.
Deputy Minister Chu said the MND had centralized its military force in Taipei during the drill in accordance with rational military strategy. If China attacks northern and southern Taiwan, he said he was confident of countering the advance, adding that the MND is also ready to deploy its forces in southern Taiwan.
But Chu did acknowledge that the MND did not take morale into account and had not focused on what would happen in the case of continuous attacks during the simulations. Chu said the reports about the number of wounded or killed in the simulations were inaccurate, but he did not further elaborate.
The MND said the results of the simulation showed that it is important for Taiwan to purchase the arms package from the United States. The MND's military procurement plan refers to a package of six Patriot-PAC anti-missile batteries, a squadron of 12 P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft and eight diesel-fueled submarines.
KMT Legislator Ker Chun-hsiung said the MND had flaunted the results of the military drill to urge lawmakers to support the arms purchase.
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