Vitasoy

Nov 9, 2004
Taiwan fights mock invasion
Taipei - TAIWAN'S army practised fending off a Chinese invasion force by staging a street battle for the first time yesterday.

Such a drill has only been simulated on computers in the past.

Some 1,600 servicemen were involved in the five-day drill codenamed 'Chang Sheng', or ever victory, with the main scenario of a Chinese landing and a Taiwanese unit rushing to repel it, an army officer said.

During the exercise, one group of soldiers forged its way northwards from Taiwan's southern Pingtung county to confront another group coming south from Taichung. They staged a mock battle across a bridge in the southern county of Tainan.

The two groups were identified by the colours red and blue, which traditionally represents the Chinese and Taiwan armies respectively.

But the army spokesman said that such roles were not specifically assigned for this exercise and denied media reports that the military had assumed the Chinese People's Liberation Army was forcing its way inland after making a successful landing in the south.

The manoeuvre came after Mr Joseph Wu, chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, said that China was increasingly likely to take Taiwan by force.

Mr Wu, formerly a chief aide to President Chen Shui-bian, said that Taiwan must bolster its defence capabilities amid what he said is Beijing's growing hostility towards the island.

Beijing claims sovereignty over the island and has threatened to attack if it declares independence. Mr Chen says that Taiwan is a sovereign state and wants to buy more weapons from the US to boost defences against China.

Both sides have been increasing their military build-up to prepare for a possible war, with Taiwan estimating that China has pointed 610 missiles at the island and is increasing its arsenal by 50 to 75 missiles a year. -- REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE



They're already preparing for the worse.

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