MNA

With the Lunar New Year approaching, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien, on behalf of Minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung, commended the basic units in New Taipei area for their steadfast dedication at their posts, and encouraged them to sustained improvement to ensure stable operations while extending his early New Year greetings. Accompanied by relevant Joint Staff officers, Vice Minister Hsu visited the New Taipei City Reserve Command and the New Taipei Armed Forces Finance Section, receiving briefings and having a talk with the military personnel, during which Vice Minister Hsu interacted cordially with all personnel, inquired about their work environment and living conditions, thanked them for their steadfast and silent contributions at their posts, and had group photos with them in the end. During inspecting New Taipei Armed Forces Finance Section, Vice Minister Hsu instructed to continue strengthening publicity and consultation services for emergency loans for military servicemen, assisting them in properly addressing needs through formal channels when required, and reminded them to integrate financial management publicity mechanisms to enhance personal awareness of financial risks and avoid falling into improper loaning dilemmas. Through the discussion with cadres of the Reserve Service Center to gain their opinions and understand practical needs in basic units, Vice Minister Hsu stated that reserve cadres had long served as an important bridge between the military and the society, acting as an extension of vital military strength. He also emphasized that reserve mobilization training was completely adjusted to a 14-day training period, with a more practical training course to strengthen training effectiveness and wartime response capabilities. He encouraged all units to improve drills and cross-agency coordination mechanisms to enhance mobilization efficiency and overall support capacity for ensuring national security and social stability.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, Chief of the General Staff Admiral Mei Chia-shu visited the Matsu Defense Command today, on behalf of theCommander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces President Lai Ching-te and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo Li-hsiung, to commend the personnel for their arduous efforts in combat readiness, express appreciation for their hard work in defending the northern frontier, and extend early Lunar New Year greetings to all. Accompanied by relevant Joint Staff officers, Admiral Mei successively inspected Liang Island, Gaoteng Island, and Dongju, receiving mission briefings from stationed units to understand the results of combat training and the status of defense preparations, and providing work guidance. In the face of severe enemy threats and regional situations, Admiral Mei reminded cadres of all echelons to properly plan and implement various combat readiness preparation tasks in a cautious manner to respond to the threats posed by various gray-zone actions. “What you are devoting and holding fast now will become remarkable stories in the future.” Admiral Mei expressed sincere admiration for every service member willing to serve in the outlying islands, encouraging them to inherit the spirit of their predecessors in defending territory and homeland, continuing to dedicate themselves on the same land and steadfastly protecting the homeland. Admiral Mei shook hands with the personnel one by one, warmly inquiring about their living conditions and needs on the island. He encouraged them to cherish the experience of serving in the outlying islands, which would bring about unforgettable memories enriched with living, combating and training experiences in the military career.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo Li-hsiung visited northern armaments units this morning to extend his early New Year greetings to the personnel, affirming their efforts and contributions to diligently producing armaments for safeguarding national security during the past year. Minister Koo first visited the Armaments Bureau’s 202nd Arsenal and the Technical Data, Test & Evaluation Center, receiving briefings and understanding on-site operations of production line. At the same time, on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces President Lai Ching-te, he encouraged and comforted the personnel, thanking them for steadfastly standing at their posts so that the public could enjoy a peaceful Lunar New Year. Minister Koo stated that the Armaments Bureau’s 202nd Arsenal shouldered the critical responsibility of researching, developing, and producing multiple types of ammunition which involved high-risk tasks. The unit had to prioritize safety and security protection, strictly pyrotechnics operating rules, improve operating processes, continuously introduce new protective equipment, establish a safe workplace environment, strengthen personnel education and training, and enhance disaster response capabilities to ensure mission to be carried out free of incidents. Minister Koo pointed out that currently defense self-reliance was key to defense policy, with armaments playing a pivotal role. He encouraged everyone to continue improving research, development, production, and testing efficiency to provide stable support to meet the demands of combat readiness. Minister Koo also extended his early Lunar New Year greetings to all personnel, thanking them for their long-term hard work at the posts, and wishing all service members and their families abundant fortune and peace in the Year of the Horse.

On presiding over the inauguration ceremony of the “New Medical Building” at the Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital today, Vice Minister of National Defense General Chung Shu-ming emphasized that the completion of this building symbolized an overall upgrade in medical services in Taiping area, enabling local residents and service members to enjoy the highest quality and most comprehensive medical care at the Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital. Vice Minister Chung, accompanied by Navy Administrative Deputy Minister of Vice Admiral Huang Yu-min, Medical Affairs Bureau Director-General Lieutenant General Tsai Chien-sung, presided over the building inauguration ceremony this morning. After receiving a briefing, Vice Minister Chung offered guidance on enhancing medical capacity. Vice Minister Chung pointed out that “holistic patient care” as its core principle, the new Medical Building fully incorporated smart green building to optimize medical workflows and operational spaces. The hospital featured modular operating rooms and intelligent nursing stations equipped with digital electronic whiteboards, smart bedside cards, and bedside service systems, creating a safe and efficient medical environment. Since 2016, the Ministry of National Defense has promoted the “Soaring Medicine Project,” and the results are now evident. The completion of this new building represents an important milestone in the military medical system’s modernization and smart healthcare transformation. During the inspection of the new building, Vice Minister Chung interacted cordially with military medical personnel and specially encouraged them with the mottos “history, responsibility, mission,” urging them to inherit the excellent tradition, shoulder the responsibility of caring for comrades, and take safeguarding public health as their highest mission. Vice Minister Chung reminded military medical cadres, “Military medical personnel should treat patients as family,” whenever service members suffer major injuries or illnesses, the entire military feels deep sorrow, and therefore he expects the military medical system to play a pivotal role in providing the most timely and professional medical assistance. In addition, during his remarks at the ceremony, Vice Minister Chung praised Lieutenant General Tsai Chien-sung, Director-General of the Medical Affairs Bureau, who was to retire with honor on February 1. Vice Minister Chung referred to Director-General Tsai as his “good classmate” and stated that during his more than three years as Director-General, he led sustained improvements in the military medical system, achieving a balance between “field military medicine in combat theater command” and “civilian medical care” in both peacetime and wartime, making indispensable contributions to military medicine. Vice Minister Chung invited all attending guests to give Director-General Tsai a warm round of applause on the spot, publicly commending his noble spirit of dedication to medical practice. Vice Minister Chung retraced Director-General Tsai’s tenure, during which he not only promoted the transformation of the National Defense Medical Center into National Defense Medical University, established forward surgical teams, and deepened exchanges with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command for talent cultivation, but also, with a spirit of “selflessness and dedication,” let the world see Taiwan’s medical technology. He encouraged all personnel to inherit this spirit and jointly build resilient, high-quality medical capabilities.

Concerned about the hardships faced by personnel stationed in remote areas, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo Li-hsiung today (January 20) visited the Green Island Camp and the Taiping Camp in Taitung to insepct the units’ combat readiness and mission execution, provide operational guidance, and commend the personnel from both units for maintaining round-the-clock vigilance and sustaining intensive training efforts. Minister Koo and his entourage first arrived at the Green Island Camp, where he expressed concern over the remote location and limited transportation access faced by the Air Force Weather Wing’s Green Island Detachment, remarking, “It’s not easy to get home, right?” Minister Koo engaged with personnel in a cordial manner and made detailed inquiries into their living and duty conditions. He recognized the unit’s continued efforts to upgrade duty equipment and living facilities, ensuring that personnel could receive appropriate rest after long periods of duty, and encouraged them to make full use of leave to spend time with their families. Subsequently, Minister Koo proceeded to the Taiping Camp to inspect the combat readiness exercise conducted by readiness forces of the Taitung Area Command’s drill and to review unit organization, standard weapons, and the progress of ongoing camp construction projects. Minister Koo expressed his appreciation for the troops’ round-the-clock commitment to combat readiness training and disaster relief operations, safeguarding the Taitung region. With the Lunar New Year approaching, on-duty readiness forces were instructed to remain at a high state of readiness and maintain vigilant monitoring of enemy situations; commanders were also directed to implement rotation-based leave plans to allow personnel to return home in a timely manner and share the holiday with their families.

Altius-600M Attack Drone Conducts First Live-Fire Shooting—Minister Koo Visits the Site to Commend Personnel Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo Li-hsiung inspected the “Altius-600M Attack Drone Acceptance Live-Fire Exercise” today (December 18), commending the personnel’s dedication and efforts in training and encouraging everyone to continue implementing combat readiness preparations, demonstrating the determination to defend the homeland. In the morning, accompanied by Chief of Army Headquarters General Lu and relevant officers, Minister Koo inspected the live status of the attack drone exercise, received a mission briefing, understood the unit’s firing situation, and commended the exercise personnel for their hard work. This live-fire shooting was conducted around the Zhuoshui River, performed by the Unmanned Aircraft System Training Center and various artillery commands, verifying unit operational procedures and overall command-and-control effectiveness. The exercise first conducted performance testing with training drones to confirm the firing airspace and target area environment, then proceeded with live-fire drones to validate personnel proficiency in equipment operation and troubleshooting, as well as the effectiveness of system and command-and-control integration. After the exercise concluded, Minister Koo personally went to the site to commend the participating units, expressing appreciation for the personnel’s teamwork and demonstration of training results; he also expressed expectations that through post-exercise reviews and other measures, areas for improvement will be identified, combat readiness preparations will continue to be implemented, and the determination to defend the homeland and safeguard national security will be demonstrated.

Today, the Second Operational Zone, together with cross-regional reinforcement personnel from the Fourth and Fifth Operational Zones and the Marine Corps Command, mobilized multiple heavy engineering equipment units to Changqiao Village, Fenglin Township, Hualien County, continuing tasks such as road debris clearance, disinfection, and household environment cleanup. They are working at full capacity to remove mud and obstacles, assisting local authorities in restoring passage and basic living functions for residents. Executive Yuan Political Deputy Minister Chi Lien-cheng visited Mingli Village in Wanrong Township and Changqiao Village in Fenglin Township today to inspect disaster conditions, understand the current situation in affected areas, and provide guidance. In addition to consoling local disaster victims, Deputy Minister Chi also encouraged the service members assisting with residential cleanup, praising their hard work in disaster relief operations. The Second Operational Zone stated that units will continue to dispatch manpower and equipment according to the needs of local governments, fully executing post-disaster recovery tasks and assisting reconstruction efforts in the fastest and most effective manner, joining hands with local authorities and residents to overcome challenges and restore their beautiful homeland as quickly as possible.

To strengthen beach defense combat capabilities, the Marine Corps Command conducted the “Second Half of 2025 Operational Plan Live-Fire Exercise” yesterday (November 4). Based on enemy threat situations and possible enemy actions, the exercise validated command, control, and communications; fire coordination; target acquisition and transmission; integration of the ICS communication system; logistics and maintenance; and command staff procedures. It integrated six units, including the air defense and guard group, to jointly execute situation response and live-fire drills, demonstrating coordinated combat capabilities and assessing unit combat readiness training results. The exercise was divided into different operational phases: “routine crisis management,” “pre-combat deployment,” “joint counter-landing,” and “coastal and beach combat.” Live firing involved ten types of light and heavy weapons, including 105mm howitzers, 40mm grenade launchers, 20mm cannons, and T74 machine guns. Combined with surveillance drones, it completed target acquisition and live-fire procedures, enhancing personnel proficiency in live-fire operations and command-and-control effectiveness. Notably, this exercise incorporated the Team Awareness Kit (TAK), utilizing real-time imagery and frontline surveillance data return to integrate battlefield intelligence and share it across endpoints, creating a common operational picture and improving unit coordinated combat capabilities. This comprehensive combat exercise not only trained each unit’s response effectiveness when facing maritime landing threats but also strengthened commanders’ real-time adaptability, fire coordination, position transition, and joint defense sector integration capabilities, enhancing overall joint combat and rapid reaction capabilities to ensure the security of maritime domains in the face of various threats.

The ROC Armed Forces recently conducted the seven-day, six-night “Land Victory No. 1 Exercise” in the central region, which concluded successfully on October 31. The Army Education, Training and Doctrine Development Command served as the exercise control headquarters, integrating the 542nd Armored Brigade of the Sixth Army Corps and the 234th Mechanized Infantry Brigade of the Tenth Army Corps. The exercise was executed using real troops, real locations, and real equipment in offensive-defensive confrontation, with cross-regional maneuver exceeding 200 kilometers, validating brigade-level joint combat and command-and-control effectiveness. The exercise was based on defensive operations scenarios and adhered to the three major principles of “real troops and real equipment, free-play control, and phased management.” Through scenario induction, participating units were guided to complete subjects including attack, defense, meeting engagement, pursuit, and successive resistance, testing commanders at all levels in on-the-spot judgment and communications maintenance capabilities. The exercise integrated drones and the Team Awareness Kit (TAK), utilizing real-time imagery and surveillance information return to enhance battlefield awareness and command efficiency, achieving the objectives of “precise enemy situation awareness, rapid decision-making, and flexible troop employment.” This was the first time the Army Education, Training and Doctrine Development Command served as exercise control headquarters, responsible for planning, execution, and evaluation tasks from an objective and impartial standpoint, with exercise outcomes fed back into education, training, and doctrine revision. The drill incorporated real-world terrain and communications interference testing to hone units’ adaptability in complex situations. Personnel at all levels embodied the spirit of “training with the enemy in mind,” completing missions were accomplished under unscripted induction, strengthening defensive combat thinking. Due to the long-duration and long-distance nighttime maneuvers, the exercise posed significant mental and physical challenges to the personnel. Prior to the exercise, units conducted long-distance nighttime driving, equipment inspections, and on-site reconnaissance to familiarize personnel with terrain characteristics and civilian facility locations, facilitating subsequent tactical employment. During the exercise, civilian facilities supported field locations, and local residents enthusiastically assisted units with quartering and rest. They expressed that having the military train locally “brings the armed forces closer to the people.” Residents also stated that seeing tanks and service members operating in the community gave them a sense of the responsibility to defend the homeland and deepened public understanding of the hardships faced by military personnel. Following the conclusion of the exercise, the exercise control headquarters completed full-process evaluation and tactical review, compiling communications and operational data as a basis for future training improvements. The Army Education, Training and Doctrine Development Command stated that it will continue to refine education, training, and operational research based on these results to enhance overall unit combat effectiveness.

The Air Force Headquarters recently conducted the “2025 Annual Tactical Evaluation.” Through multiple tactical subject competitions, it assessed the annual combat readiness training results of each wing, stimulated unit honor and cohesion, and further strengthened Air Force combat power, demonstrating to the public the solid capability to defend Taiwan’s airspace. This year’s Tactical Evaluation included five tactical-level assessment subjects: “Air Defense Interception and AGTS Gunnery,” “Nighttime Potential Weapons Loading,” “Infrared Missile Firing,” “25-pound Practice Bomb Drop,” and “Military Police Small Arms Shooting Competition.” Each wing executed the subjects according to the scheduled timeline. Personnel from all units gave their utmost in the competition, displaying teamwork, showcasing the results of daily rigorous training, and earning honor for their units. Among these, the “Air Defense Interception and AGTS Gunnery” and “Tactical Intercept Control” subjects trained pilots to rapidly execute emergency scramble upon receiving orders, be guided by combat controllers to simulate beyond-visual-range missile attacks and target identification, and conduct AGTS (Aerial Gunnery Target System) cannon firing upon reaching firing position. Throughout the process, mission aircraft and air battle management personnel must closely coordinate via communications to successfully complete the interception mission. The “Infrared Missile Firing” subject tested pilots’ ability to judge combat situations, lock onto targets, and execute weapon release in the rapidly changing air combat environment. The “25-pound Practice Bomb Drop” trained pilots in fundamental skills including “pre-drop checks,” “tactical pull-up maneuvers,” and “bomb release accuracy.” In addition, the “Potential Weapons Loading Competition” simulated ground technical personnel rapidly performing weapon loading and inspection after an aircraft landed, completing combat power regeneration and replenishment in the shortest possible time to ensure sustained combat capability, demonstrating seamless coordination and tacit understanding between air and ground crews. The “2025 Annual Tactical Evaluation” is not only a microcosm of the Air Force’s yearly combat readiness achievements but also a concrete manifestation of the entire force’s dedication to combat training. From the precise control of pilots in the air to the rapid maintenance of ground technical personnel, every link embodies the firm determination and professional ability of Air Force personnel to defend the nation’s skies and ensure national security.