President Ma Ying-jeou oversaw a computerized war game Wednesday as part of annual Han Kuang military exercises. During the event, Ma reaffirmed the government's commitment to continue combat preparedness while refraining from provoking any military conflict. He asked the military not to pause in its combat training and efforts to build up an elite force to deter invasion. The following are excerpts from local media coverage of the event: United Daily News: The military launched a five-day uninterrupted computer-aided war game Monday to test its combat strategies and tactics in the face of a simulated invasion by China's People's Liberation Army. Accompanied by Premier Wu Den-yih and National Security Council Secretary- General Hu Wei-chen, Ma visited the maximum security Henshan military command center in suburban Taipei Wednesday morning to review the simulation. Ma was given a briefing on the missions of various combat units in the ongoing game before he reviewed a simulated cross-strait military confrontation. He also communicated with commanding officers of various combat units through video conference. Military sources said this year's Han Kuang exercises are very special because the conflict level is higher than those simulated in previous years, with National Defense University President Chin Nai-chieh heading senior instructors in the university and various service branches to act as enemy forces supposedly from China's Nanjing and Guangzhou military regions. (July 22, 2010). China Times: Military officials said China now has more than 1,000 missiles aimed at Taiwan. Therefore, they said, the military has to adopt all sorts of strategies to cope with the challenges and preserve its defense capacity. Noting that self-defense has been the military's highest priority, the officials said the military has never factored in 'foreign aid' in its war simulation or training drills. During Wednesday's war game, President Ma reviewed the military's combat prowess in the event of an abrupt missile attack from China as well as the coordination mechanism between the military and various government agencies during wartime. (July 22, 2010). Liberty Times: Ruling Kuomintang Legislator Lin Yu-fang said in Washington, D.C. Tuesday that the United States is more likely to help Taiwan upgrade the performance of its F16 A/B aircraft than to sell Taiwan F-16 C/D block fighters. Lin, who is heading a delegation of Taiwanese lawmakers on a visit to the U.S. capital, said Washington has not yet decided on Taiwan's request to purchase either F-16 C/D aircraft or diesel-electric submarines. According to Lin, the biggest reason behind U.S. hesitation to sell Taiwan F-16 C/Ds lies in its unwillingness to offend China, which has voiced strong opposition to any U.S. arms deals with Taiwan. During a meeting with Taiwanese reporters posted in Washington, KMT Legislator Lee Ming-hsing said the U.S. government is watching whether the two sides of the Taiwan Strait will grow increasingly closer after the signing of a landmark economic cooperation framework agreement. However, Lin said Lee's statement represented his own speculation, stressing that none of the U.S. officials or congressional members they have visited expressed concerns about closer cross-strait cooperation in the post- ECFA era. Although tensions across the Taiwan Strait have eased since President Ma's China-friendly administration came to power in 2008, Beijing has never renounced the use of force against Taipei. Military officials were quoted as having said recently that China could raise the number of missiles aimed at Taiwan to 1,900 by the end of the year from the current 1,600. (July 22, 2010). 