Taiwan has been trying to conduct “realistic training” to counter the threat of invasion from China, but analysts are arguing Taiwan needs more than just static shooting practice.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Taiwan's troops get some practice firing advanced weapons.
00:12The military is wrapping up two days of coastal defense drills using brand new U.S. TOW missile
00:18launchers to train for nighttime and daytime conditions.
00:28It's a first for every soldier here, and this exercise is a chance to improve their marksmanship.
00:51Taiwan has been trying to conduct more realistic training to counter the threat of invasion
00:56from China.
00:57This includes giving soldiers more freedom to react on the battlefield and using more
01:02live ammunition.
01:10The goal of this drill is to practice destroying incoming Chinese ships and troop carriers,
01:16But analysts in Taiwan say it's far from realistic.
01:34This type of one-dimensional training is a source of concern here in Taiwan and in the
01:39U.S., Taiwan's largest weapons provider.
01:42U.S. analysts say that while Taiwan may be getting used to the weapons it has, it's not
01:48getting used to strategies for using them.
02:09One solution could be to increase the amount of practice troops get on wartime scenarios.
02:15That means simulating fighting from multiple positions in addition to routine training
02:20like this one here.
02:22But in order to do that, analysts say Taiwan needs to buy more weapons.
02:26I think Taiwan needs massive stockpiles of these things, certainly much larger than the
02:33one it's building.
02:34And the other thing about, you know, more is better is like, if you have more stuff
02:37on hand, you can do, you can expend more in training, you can do that kind of stuff.
02:43And so it's, it's, you know, having just that, the mass of these systems is going to be important.
02:51Taiwan already has some 2,700 TOW missiles and a recent purchase of 1,700 more is a step
02:58in the right direction.
02:59But officials here declined to give an update on the status of those weapons.
03:03Many U.S. weapons purchases are currently delayed.
03:07With Taiwan said to have more than 4,000 TOW missiles in its arsenal by the end of
03:10this year, it's yet to be seen whether the military will actually change the way it conducts
03:14its training and adapt to the threats it faces now across the Taiwan Strait.
03:19Joseph Wu and Hami Okon in Pingtung County for Taiwan Plus.