[Source/Observer Network, Wang Shih-pure] According to comprehensive reports from Taiwan media on April 13, the Taiwanese military continues to attempt to deepen US-Taiwan cooperation. This time, during the "Han Guang" military exercise, the Taiwanese military invited a retired four-star US general.
Taiwanese media cited authoritative sources to confirm that this time, the US side sent Robert B. Abrams, a famous World War II US armored force commander's son and former Commander of the United Nations Command in South Korea, to serve as a senior observer in this year's "Han Guang" war game. The media reported that although there have been previous visits by retired American generals to observe the "Han Guang" exercise, what is different this time is that Abrams is participating for the first time as an advisor to the General Headquarters under the General of the Taiwanese military, Ma Hsiu-shu.
Regarding this, many Taiwanese media outlets proudly claimed that this move shows that the US and Taiwan are beginning to plan future "US-Taiwan joint operational models" and explore the possibility of mutual coordination during wartime. However, Chiu Chung-hung, a researcher at the Taiwan Think Tank "China Strategic Prospective Association," believed that this represents an elevation in US-Taiwan military exchanges to the "planning coordination" stage, but still falls short of actual joint operations.
General Robert Abrams' social media
Robert Abrams is the third son of Creighton Williams Abrams Jr., a famous US Army armored commander during World War II. As the son of a military family, Robert Abrams graduated from the prestigious West Point Military Academy and then served within the armored forces system. After being promoted to general, he served as the Commander of US Forces in South Korea and concurrently as the so-called Commander of the United Nations Command. Unlike his father, however, he did not die while in office. He retired in July 2021.
It is worth noting that the new M1A2T "Abrams" tanks acquired by the Taiwanese army are named after his father. The media speculated that considering Abrams' expertise, he will guide the Taiwanese military in using Abrams tanks.
This is not the first time the US has sent personnel to Taiwan during the "Han Guang" exercise. During the high-level staff map-based wargame of the 41st Han Guang Exercise in February, Major General Jay M. Bargeron of the US Marine Corps from the US Indo-Pacific Command was disclosed by military media to be seated next to Taiwan's Defense Minister, Ku Li-hsing.
Taiwanese media reported that this time, Robert Abrams participated as a senior observer and also served for the first time as an advisor to the Taiwanese military headquarters, playing a role in the wargame that was no longer as simple as before.
Regarding the use of a senior retired US general as the overall advisor for the exercise, Chiu Chung-hung believed that this represents an elevation in US-Taiwan military exchanges to the "planning coordination" stage, but falls short of actual joint operations.
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Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493094264638571058/
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