The chief of the general staff of Taiwan's armed forces, Mei Chia-shu, has briefed the legislature on this year's Han Kuang exercises, saying commanders on the ground will be empowered to make decisions to make the drills as realistic as possible.
CORRECTION: This broadcast was based on a Ministry of National Defense announcement that said it’s been 25 years since a military chief of staff has appeared before the legislature. The ministry has since clarified that it's been 23 years since such an appearance.
CORRECTION: This broadcast was based on a Ministry of National Defense announcement that said it’s been 25 years since a military chief of staff has appeared before the legislature. The ministry has since clarified that it's been 23 years since such an appearance.
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00:00Taiwan's Chief of the General Staff Mei Jia-su has said he wants this year's largest military
00:06exercise to be as realistic as possible, part of preparing Taiwan to be ready for war.
00:12Mei was being questioned by lawmakers the first time a military chief of staff has appeared
00:17at the legislature in 25 years.
00:20Louise Watt is live for us in Taipei.
00:22Louise, what exactly has Mei said?
00:25Chief Leslie, he's basically signalled a fundamental shift in the way the military
00:32will operate, empowering troops on the ground to make decisions rather than waiting for
00:38commands from higher-ups.
00:41Now he was talking to lawmakers about the Hanguang exercises, they're Taiwan's largest
00:48war games and they've been going on for 40 years.
00:52But they've come in for criticism in recent years for being too scripted.
00:59So this time around they're going to the military is trying to make them as realistic as possible.
01:05So that means less scripted and also decentralisation of orders.
01:12Now what does this mean?
01:13It means that troops will be empowered to react and they will not have to wait for orders
01:20from higher-up.
01:22And often if you think about it, when in wartime communications can go from your central base.
01:32And so therefore this is about getting troops as combat ready as possible.
01:37And Mei told lawmakers today he wants this decentralisation of orders to be adopted by
01:43all units at appropriate times.
01:47And why is Taiwan doing these exercises?
01:49Well, injecting a dose of reality into all of this is actions by China today.
01:55As Mei was being questioned by lawmakers, Taiwan's defence ministry said it had spotted
02:0026 Chinese planes near Taiwan.
02:05They said China had been carrying out a joint combat readiness patrol with planes, but not
02:10just planes, warships as well.
02:12So it's a reminder of the military threat that Taiwan faces.
02:17Louise, there's been some controversy over Mei's appearance in the legislature.
02:22Why?
02:26Yes, it's unusual to see a general chief of staff being grilled by lawmakers.
02:32Normally it's the defence minister who that falls to.
02:36But what's happened is there have actually been some new reforms that have started today
02:41that give lawmakers more power to question anyone they like.
02:45Well, actually, this is not related to that.
02:48The Foreign Affairs and Defence Affairs Committee, they say they invited Mei to give evidence
02:55because the new defence minister has handed over some powers of responsibility for military
03:01orders and administration to the chief of staff.
03:04So they say he was the man really that they wanted an explanation from.
03:08But as you say, Leslie, this has been controversial.
03:13Some people think it's inappropriate that the head of the military has been grilled
03:18by lawmakers.
03:19A former chief of the general staff, Admiral Li Ximing, he actually said that the legislature
03:26is concerned with defence policies and should not be interfering with the training and command
03:33of the troops.
03:34He said Mei shouldn't be wasting his time with politics.
03:38But as for Mei himself, before he went in to be questioned, he told reporters if his
03:44evidence helps the public to better understand the military and get behind the military,
03:51then he's all for it.