The longest-ever live-fire portion of the annual Han Kuang military exercises today began officially, with this year's drills focusing on countering China's "gray zone" tactics.
The nine-night, 10-day Han Kuang exercises are double the length of previous iterations, which normally lasted four nights and five days, the Ministry of National Defense has said.
The first three days of the drills are to focus on how the military collectively counters China's gray zone tactics, or coercive actions that fall short of open conflict, Joint Operations Planning Division Director Major General Tung Chi-hsing (董冀星) said on Tuesday last week.
Photo: CNA
On the first day, the exercises would simulate militia boats and China Coast Guard vessels conducting gray zone harassment operations near Taiwan, the ministry's plan shows.
To prepare troops to respond swiftly should China turn such gray zone activities into an actual invasion, navy vessels would be dispatched to designated locations off the coast in anticipation of confronting enemy forces, the plan shows.
Navy mobile radar units and mobile anti-ship missile systems would also be sent to strategic locations, and special units would be deployed at ports, harbors and other key infrastructure sites to maintain a functioning society, it shows.
At the same time, military engineers would begin to practice building and deploying counter-mobility obstacles to slow the movement of enemy forces at so-called "red beaches" — coastal areas deemed vulnerable to large enemy landings, the plan shows.
Reservists have also reported to designated locations around the country.
This year, up to 22,000 reservists would participate in the drills to test their ability to provide brigade-sized rather than battalion-sized support, the ministry has said.
After the first three days, the exercises would move on to the "full-scale combat" phase, which includes drills for joint anti-landing operations on Sunday, coastal and beachhead combat on Monday next week, in-depth defense on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, and protracted warfare on Thursday and Friday next week, Tung said.
The annual Han Kuang exercises, which have served as Taiwan's major war games since 1984, consist of live-fire drills and computerized tabletop war games.
This year's tabletop games were conducted from April 5 to 18.
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