Taiwan plans massive military exercises, facing China’s threat
The training will last for 10 days (Photo: Getty Images)
Taiwan is preparing to begin its largest annual military exercises in history, reports Bloomberg.
The Han Kuang drills, starting today, will last 10 days, twice as long as the usual duration since these exercises began in 1984. More than 20,000 reservists will be called up in total.
The civilian population is also involved; for example, basements of a large supermarket chain are being used as bomb shelters.
Additionally, the local government of the archipelago, home to 23 million people, is also testing its ability to provide essential services and distribute goods during a crisis.
Chieh Chung, a non-resident fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (a Taipei-based government-affiliated think tank), explained the purpose of these exercises.
“The goal of the Han Kuang drill this year is to strengthen Taiwan’s ability to offer long-term resistance and to build the resilience in both the military and civil society that President Lai Ching-te has emphasized,” he said.
According to Chung, the planning of this year’s exercises better reflects realistic scenarios that could occur if China initiates a military attack on Taiwan.
Details about the exercises
Since Lai Ching-te became president last year, he has made preparing Taiwan for a Chinese attack one of his top priorities. In recent weeks, he has delivered a series of speeches across Taiwan, urging the public to unite in resisting China.
Lai’s actions largely respond to increasing military pressure from China: since he took office, the People’s Liberation Army has repeatedly conducted exercises around the island.
Taiwan reported that in May, China deployed dozens of military and government vessels daily in the region, describing this activity as a campaign of extreme pressure.
Chieh Chung stated that one reason Taiwan extended the exercises to 10 days was the need to test new weapons, especially drones, which have played a significant role in the war in Ukraine and are increasingly seen by Taipei as crucial.
“The military is currently developing operational guidelines and tactics for the use of drones as well as countermeasures against Chinese UAVs. This exercise may serve as a platform to validate and revise the preliminary drafts of those guidelines,” he said.
Additionally, according to Chung, this year’s exercises will focus more on urban warfare than last year, indicating that Taiwan’s military officials are less optimistic than before about the possibility of stopping the rapidly advancing PLA on the sea and in the air.
