Tanks drive down a street in Penghu County yesterday ahead of the annual Han Kuang military exercises. Photo: Liu Yu-ching, Taipei Times HAN KUANG: The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers said By Wu Che-wei and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA The armed forces would for the first time test new rules of engagement (ROE) at this month’s annual Han Kuang exercises, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers told a news conference in Taipei.
ROE cards would be issued to select combat troops to test their ability to function without tight control, they said. The most recent edition of the rules was published last year, they said. One of the cards’ two templates identifies enemy targets that soldiers can legitimately engage in, such as combat personnel, command structure, facilities, systems and equipment designated as hostile by the armed forces, they said.
The template also designates scenarios wherein lethal force can be used to defend members of friendly armed forces, designated infrastructures, prisoners of war and detainees, and humanitarian aid workers, they said. The other template provides definitions and guidelines for target discrimination, proportionality, necessi.