Taiwan is to simulate a Chinese blockade and invasion in its annual Han Kuang military and civil defense drills next week, as President William Lai (賴清德) warned today that Taiwan was already facing China's "war without gun smoke."
The annual Han Kuang exercises starting next Wednesday is scheduled to last for 10 days and mobilize more than 22,000 reservists, both unprecedented in length and scale. Taiwan is facing ramped-up military pressure by China.
Addressing soldiers in a video ahead of Han Kuang, Lai said in recent years Taiwan has been constantly preparing for a "war without gun smoke" such as Chinese infiltration and disinformation attacks.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
"However, there is no need to worry because the democratic, free and prosperous Taiwan of today is the result of the Taiwanese people's courage, conviction and actions in fighting their way through various challenges, and the unity and resilience of the Taiwanese people have been demonstrated."
Tung Chih-hsing, head of the defense ministry's joint combat planning department, said drill scenarios included "joint fire attack and the sea ferry of the landing group by the Communist Army" and Taiwan's armed forces would practice building up a "chain of strikes" with naval and air precision attacks.
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