CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — A new report by Taiwan’s government pledges to refocus military training on realistic threat scenarios, as the island nation contends with fresh Chinese saber-rattling close to home.
Taipei is aware of the threat posed by Beijing’s forces forces, but officials acknowledge more must be done to deter and, if need be, fight an invasion. That message was prominently included in the Chinese-language Quadrennial Defense Review, published last month, now available as an English translation.
“Training courses and intensity will be increased to enrich combat skills of troops at all levels, and enhance their immediate combat-readiness capabilities,” the document states.
A Defense News reporter has witnessed Taiwanese training events on multiple occasions, which often resembled formulaic and choreographed drills divorced from the fog of war in modern warfare.
A lack of realism has also been fingered as a problem by U.S. observers and advisors.
Rupert J. Hammond-Chambers, president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, told Defense News that the QDR’s aspiration for better training amounts to an important self-criticism.
“Training is a huge area of needed progress,” he noted. “This is going hand in hand with U.S. willingness to liberalize past political boundaries and support expanded training on Taiwan and in the States.”
Randall Schriver, chairman of the U.S.-based Project 2049 Institute, testified to the U.S. Senate in late March that Washington must do more in training Taiwan’s forces.
“That was taboo for decades, and now we’re getting them to a point where they’re more professional, more proficient, as they’re placing a greater emphasis on training,” he told senators.
The QDR listed ways of improving the situation, such as “realistic combat training which is carried out in a force-on-force, on-site and real-time manner.” The review said this is necessary “in response to the enemy’s diversified threats and rapid changes in battlefields.”
One example of China’s evolving tactics was the introduction of new landing barges, exposed in satellite imagery in January. These mobile bridges were employed in a People’s Liberation Army (or PLA) exercise on a Guangdong beach in mid-March.
The innovative devices help military vehicles and supplies move rapidly from ship to shore.
Andrew Erickson, Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College, warned: “Make no mistake: China’s new bridge-barges are purpose-built for a Taiwan invasion scenario.”
By aligning three landing bridges in a row, a 900-yard-long causeway is created, allowing civilian or naval vessels to berth and unload equipment straight onto beaches.
Erickson explained this unique platform “may represent the missing piece in the puzzle for China to be able to attempt to deploy ferry-delivered, follow-on forces in support of an amphibious assault to the most advantageous locations along Taiwan’s coastline”.
Due to terrain and environmental conditions, the Project 2049 Institute previously identified just 14 Taiwanese beaches suitable for large-scale amphibious landings. However, these new bridge-barges expand the number of potential landing sites, complicating the equation for Taiwanese defense planners.
Taiwan’s defense review urged the armed forces to “construct realistic battlefield environments for joint training and exercises, force-on-force drills, and live-fire shooting practices to validate their results under near realistic combat conditions”.
Last year, Taiwan raised its conscription period from four to twelve months, citing “enemy threats.” Low morale and personnel retention remain problematic, however, something to which poor training contributes.
Conscripts were once lucky to receive a full magazine of bullets to fire during their national service, but the QDR promises they will now also learn how to operate complex weapons such as man-portable air defense missiles, drones and antitank rockets.
Despite such weaknesses, Hammond-Chambers said the latest QDR “grapples with the totality of the threat.”
He believes Taiwan is taking the PLA threat seriously enough. For example, “Defense spending has doubled in the past eight years, and the level of support from the U.S. too has improved in many areas, if not all.”
In terms of Taiwan preparedness, he noted there are “real bright spots, such as deterring a kinetic invasion. But in areas such as gray zone, blockade and critical infrastructure, there is much work to be done.”
Taiwan’s military has an immediate opportunity to demonstrate training improvements, after this year’s major Han Kuang exercise commenced on April 5. This fortnight-long tabletop drill contrasts with last year’s eight-day program.
Maj. Gen. Tung Chi-hsing, director of the Ministry of National Defense’s joint operations planning division, said the wargames have created scenarios in which frequent PLA military exercises escalate into a real attack on Taiwan.
The live-fire segment of Han Kuang will take place July 8-18, and this will see 20,000 reservists mobilized, up from 14,000 last year.
Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.
