The Taiwan military's annual "Han Kuang Exercise" will, for the first time, conduct critical point blockage and defense drills on the newly completed Tamkang Bridge, in order to strengthen the ability to prevent enemy forces from using water routes to directly strike at Taipei’s political and economic center.
According to Taiwan's United Daily News and Liberty Times reports, the Tamkang Bridge, located at the mouth of the Danshui River in New Taipei City, officially opened to traffic in May this year. However, the bridge also offers a quick shortcut across the river mouth, providing enemy troops a direct route to Taipei’s political and economic hub if they successfully land on Bali Coast or at Taipei Port. Therefore, the Tamkang Bridge has been classified by the military as a key verification facility in this year’s "Han Kuang 42" live-fire exercise.
The Taiwan Army Command stated on Saturday (August 1) that the "Tamkang Bridge Combat Utilization" will be integrated with the "Danshui River Route Blockade" project. The exercise will address topics such as minefields, blocking facilities, integrated kill zones, as well as military-civilian cooperation and mobilization of civil materials and manpower.
Well-informed sources revealed that during the exercise, the military will carry out bridge blockage training. This move focuses not only on defending a single bridge, but also serves as an overall verification of the entire Danshui River defense system. However, regarding the specific drill format, mobilized troop numbers, and tactical assumptions, the military is not disclosing details to the public at this time.
Information released by the Taiwan Ministry of Transportation and Communications states that from 8:00 PM on August 6 to 6:00 AM on August 7, the southbound expressway, motorcycle lane, pedestrian, and bicycle paths on Tamkang Bridge (from Tamsui toward Bali) will be completely closed to accommodate military exercises.
The mouth of the Danshui River has always been a strategic stronghold for guarding against enemy incursions into the political and economic center of Taipei. In the past, to prevent amphibious vehicles such as hovercraft from breaking through, the military’s combat preparedness drills and past exercises in June have focused heavily on blocking and intercepting the river channel. For example, the Army's 53rd Engineer Group sets up "multiple locations, three lines at each location" of fishing nets, explosive oil drums, and platforms as barricades, while the Navy is responsible for laying mines offshore. Previous exercise scenarios have even included destroying the upstream Guandu Bridge, using the bridge body sunk into the river to delay enemy troops. Additionally, the River Defense Battalion of the Guandu Regional Command, as a round-the-clock standby unit, can also deploy tanks and other vehicles at any time to maintain firepower vigilance over the river channel.