TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Military police on Tuesday rehearsed repulsing a PLA advance by erecting a defensive barrier on a vital bridge connecting New Taipei and Taipei while deploying armored vehicles that fired machine guns.
The 10-day, nine-night Han Kuang No. 41 live-fire exercise has reached its seventh day, per NOWnews. The Military Police Command conducted a bridge defense drill at Wanban Bridge to simulate preventing enemy forces from advancing into Taipei's political and military centers.
Troops completed the setup of barrier systems in under two hours. In addition to deploying Clouded Leopard armored vehicles, the military used public buses as roadblocks and installed US-made Hesco defensive barriers.
Military police previously installed sandbags and Czech hedgehogs at Huaqiu Bridge and the Fuxing North Road underpass during the 2023 and 2024 Han Kuang drills. This marked the first full closure of Wanban Bridge in the exercise, which featured a bridge defense and coordinated strongpoint operation.
The scenario assumed that two reinforced enemy companies attempted to break through the Wanban Bridge after seizing Banqiao. Military police used surveillance drones to identify and engage enemy targets.
After the third defensive line was breached, troops established ambush zones at nearby high points such as Dali Senior High School. Mortar units launched 120 mm rounds while suppressive fire was laid down.
The drill concluded with a sweep by four Clouded Leopard armored vehicles firing 7.62 mm machine guns across the bridge deck. Gunfire was audible to residents in New Taipei’s Banqiao District, per SET News.
This drill followed earlier Han Kuang exercises, including a July 12 simulation of a PLA seizure of Taoyuan Airport and a July 13 beach landing defense at Dajia Beach, Taichung.
The Hesco barrier, developed in the 1990s, was widely used by US forces during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It consists of collapsible wire mesh containers lined with fabric, which can be filled with sand or gravel.
Two soldiers and a front-end loader can erect a 10-meter wall in 20 minutes. In contrast, building a similar wall with traditional sandbags requires about eight people and eight hours.
