Taiwan Begins Annual Han Kuang War Games to Simulate Combat Scenarios

Taipei, July 22 — Taiwan commenced its annual Han Kuang war games on Monday, aiming to replicate actual combat conditions as closely as possible. This year’s exercises feature no scripted elements and focus on simulating a Chinese attack.

China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has been conducting regular military exercises around the island for the past four years to pressure Taipei into accepting Beijing’s sovereignty claims, despite Taiwan’s firm objections.

This year’s drills have eliminated activities that were primarily for show, such as scripted firepower displays. Instead, the focus is on intensified nighttime exercises and practicing operations with disrupted command lines.

The exercises began in the northern city of Taoyuan, near Taipei, which houses Taiwan’s main international airport. Reservists gathered to receive their orders as they would in a real war scenario, and civilian vans were utilized to transport supplies. Later in the day, the military will practice defending a major port in Taipei.

On Thursday, Taoyuan airport will close for an hour in the morning to accommodate the drills. However, a typhoon is expected to impact the island that day, potentially causing delays in the exercise.

Live fire drills will be conducted on Taiwan’s outlying islands, including Kinmen and Matsu, which are located close to the Chinese coast and were the sites of intermittent clashes during the Cold War.

The five-day war games are being held in conjunction with the Wan’an civil defense drills. During these drills, the streets of major cities will be evacuated for half an hour to simulate a Chinese missile attack, and warning alarms will sound on mobile phones.

This week’s drill scenarios include establishing contingency command lines after existing hubs are destroyed and dispersing Chinese forces attempting to land on Taiwan’s western coastline. A defense official involved in the planning shared these details.

China conducted its own two-day war games around Taiwan shortly after President Lai Ching-te took office in May, describing the exercises as “punishment” for his inauguration speech, which Beijing condemned as separatist.

China has also been employing gray zone warfare tactics against Taiwan, aiming to exhaust the island’s defenses by keeping them on constant alert without engaging in open combat. This includes almost daily air force missions near Taiwan.

China has never ruled out the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. President Lai, who insists that only the Taiwanese people can decide their future, has repeatedly offered to hold talks, but these offers have been rebuffed by Beijing.