The computerized portion of Taiwan’s largest annual military drills is to be held for 14 days for the second consecutive year, testing the nation’s defenses against China’s “gray zone” activities and its potential to carry out a full-scale invasion of Taiwan.
The Han Kuang exercises are held annually in two stages. This year’s 42nd edition is to start with tabletop war games, conducted from Saturday next week to April 24, Major General Tung Chi-hsing (董冀星), director of the Ministry of National Defense’s Joint Operations Planning Division, told a news briefing in Taipei yesterday.
Last year was the first time the tabletop war games lasted two weeks. In 2024, they were held for eight days, while in previous years, the computerized exercises usually lasted five days.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The military last year said that the exercises were extended to give the armed forces more time to test their response measures across different scenarios, including situations in which Chinese forces suddenly turn drills into a full-scale invasion.
The computerized war games would again be conducted using the US-built Joint Theater Level Simulation platform, Tung said, adding that they would be held around the clock to test the ability of the nation as a whole to coordinate and respond to a Chinese invasion.
The war games would simulate a scenario in which the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) unexpectedly pivots military exercises or “gray zone” activities — provocative or aggressive actions that fall just short of open conflict — near Taiwan into a real attack, Tung said.
Similar to last year, this segment of the exercises would be unscripted to test troop emergency response capabilities, with a focus on responses under decentralized command and around-the-clock operational conditions, he said.
The scenario would also test how the armed forces defend the country if the PLA attempts to seize ports and airports before advancing inland, he said.
In addition to defensive efforts by active-duty troops, the military would mobilize reserve forces and work with the Central Joint Response Center to practice integrated military-civilian cooperation in repelling intruders, he added.
As for the live-fire segment of the 42nd Han Kuang exercises, Tung did not say when it would be held this year or how long it would last.
Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) earlier this year said that the live-fire exercises, usually staged in the summer, would again run for 10 days and nine nights, as was the case last year.
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