The upcoming live-fire segment of Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang military exercises would focus on testing troops’ response to a decentralized command structure, the updated rules of engagement and unremitting operational scenarios, a military source said yesterday.
The Han Kuang exercises, the nation’s largest military drills, are held annually in two stages. The 40th edition this year began with the tabletop war games phase from April 19 to 26.
The live-fire exercises are scheduled to take place from July 22 to 26, the Ministry of National Defense has said.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, Bloomberg
This year’s live-fire exercises would prioritize testing the ability of troops to fend off an unremitting Chinese invasion, how prepared troops are to launch counterattacks based on their own judgement, and their ability to follow the updated rules of engagement, a military source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In previous years, the five-day live-fire portion of the exercises was primarily conducted during the day, but this year, the drills would also be held at night, as “the enemy could strike at any time of the day,” the source said.
The exercises would include a decentralized command structure, meaning units would have to make their own judgement calls after losing contact with central command, they said.
Each unit should follow the updated rules of engagement when encountering enemy troops, even when they are unable to contact central command, the source added.
Revised rules of engagement were released last year, amid repeated incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone by Chinese warplanes, drones and balloons.
The rules instruct troops on which scenarios they are authorized to use weapons and ammunition to launch counterattacks, the source said.
Unlike in previous editions, there are to be fewer live-fire exercises open to the media.
The military used to give media access to parts of the exercises and invited senior government officials, including the president, to oversee them. The purpose was to keep the public informed about the latest military developments and to assure them that their troops are capable of defending the nation.
That practice serves little practical purpose in terms of preparing for war, the source said.
As a test of the armed forces’ emergency response capabilities, the military would also simulate several scenarios that could occur if a cross-strait war were to break out without prior warning, they added.
This year, the exercises would be as close as possible to actual combat given the rapidly rising “enemy threat” from China, said a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
China has been staging regular exercises around Taiwan.
“In recent years, the enemy threat has changed rapidly,” the official said. “Our defense combat plan must also be continuously revised on a rolling basis, and the urgency of comprehensive combat training is becoming more important.”
Things might go wrong in the drills, such as vehicle breakdowns, which would be fine, as “these are problems that might be faced in actual combat,” they said.
The exercises would be a continuous experience, as “war does not distinguish between night and day,” the official said.
The defense ministry in April said the war games would practice “kill” zones at sea to break a blockade and simulate a scenario where China suddenly turns one of its regular drills around Taiwan into an attack.
“Only with real-time, on-the-ground verification can we truly understand the capabilities and limitations of our troops,” the official said.
China held two days of its own war games around Taiwan shortly after President William Lai (賴清德) took office on May 20, saying it was “punishment” for his inauguration speech.
China has also been using “gray zone” warfare against Taiwan, which means using irregular tactics to exhaust a foe by keeping them continually on alert without resorting to open combat.
This has included sending balloons over Taiwan and almost daily air force missions in the skies near Taiwan.
The official declined to comment on which parts of the war games Lai would attend or whether there would be US observers.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
RSS