Analysis: Why Taiwan's Military Extended the Upcoming Lu Sheng Exercise

Reports indicate that the Army's Loo Sung exercise in October will take place over 10 days, up from 7 when they began last year. Anonymous sources told CNA and Liberty Times that units from the north and south of the country will be pitted against each other over the longer time frame. The live-fire drill aims to test 24-hour combat readiness and will simulate real-world conditions with unscripted scenarios. The Defense Ministry told Taiwan Plus that they would not comment on these exercises. For more on Loo Sung, our reporter Larry Siano spoke with Su Zhirin, a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research. What's the difference between this year's Loo Sung exercises and last year's, and why did the military choose to extend them? The Loo Sung exercises are longer and are closer to the actual combat situation. This time, it's 10 days and 9 nights. So, first of all, they need to train the field officers, which is the ability to command, and the training of attack and defense between the troops. Reports indicate that part of the changes made to this year's Loo Sung exercise is this new firepower value system. Can you explain what that is and why it's important? Taking into account all the different changes made to this year's edition of the exercises compared to last year, what do you think this means for Taiwan's military capabilities? In the training, there will be feedback, which is feedback that can be directed to the so-called decision-making or strategy design. So, it becomes an interactive situation. In such an exercise, the Taiwan military or the Ministry of National Defense can also find out what equipment needs to be enhanced when making purchases in the future, for example, what components are not enough, or what communication equipment needs to be better. Through the exercises, they can find the real problem. The exercises are not just about winning or losing the Red Army or winning the Blue Army, but they can really find the problem. Lao Tzu-Tzu-Ring from INDSR