Military to cut frequency of war games

The statement by Major General Huang Kun-tsung comes amid a months-long effort by President Ma Ying-jeou to reverse his predecessor's Taiwan-centric stand and forge closer relations with Beijing authorities.

Speaking to reporters, Gen. Huang said the annual 'Han Kuang' or 'Chinese Glory' live-fire exercise will now be held every 24 months. The war game features land, sea and aerial maneuvers keyed to a possible Chinese invasion.

“The readiness of Taiwan's military is not being relaxed even though we are seeing less tension in the Taiwan Strait,” Gen. Huang said, referring to the 160km wide body of water between Taiwan and China.

“We are adjusting the frequency of the exercise to improve the military's capabilities,” he added.

Maj Gen. Li Yueh-chang, the officer in charge of operations and planning, said the longer Han Kuang interval will also allow military personnel more time to study lessons gleaned from previous exercises.

Since Ma came into office last May, he has beefed up trade relations with China and said he favors confidence-building measures between the Taiwanese and mainland militaries.

Please see MILITARY on page Last month Taiwan's military affirmed that it will slash the size of the island's armed forces, partially because of improving relations with China.

“(This) is part of the defense forces' restructuring, taking into consideration the new type of warfare, mainland relations and other external factors,” the Ministry of National Defense Spokeswoman Lisa Chi said at the time.

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