Taiwan's 'Realistic' Beach Defense Strategy
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.
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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.