The structure of this year’s Han Kuang exercises indicate closer ties with the US military, while also emphasizing flexibility and resilience as opposed to primarily putting advanced weapons on display, experts said.
The annual military drills began on Wednesday and are to extend through Friday next week across the nation.
The live-fire exercises are to test the army’s ability to sustain 24-hour defense operations as well as counter China’s “gray zone” tactics, which stop just short of open warfare.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
While there has long been speculation that the US military has been quietly training Taiwanese troops, the collaboration between the two sides has been more visible in recent weeks.
For example, a key component of the Han Kuang drills is the practice of a US-inspired military communications method called “backbriefing,” where subordinates explain to commanders how they plan to carry out assigned missions.
The communication drills are intended to encourage first-line fighters to be more self-reliant and effective in battle, experts said.
“The most important new development in this year’s Han Kuang is the incorporation of American-style military training methods, which are aimed at enhancing the coordination and combat readiness of the Taiwanese military,” International Crisis Group senior Northeast Asia analyst William Yang (楊?暐) said.
The drills thus “stay away from the mostly performative tasks of firepower display” of past years and instead focus on building real combat capabilities, Yang added.
This year’s drills would also mobilize one of the largest numbers yet of reservists, of about 20,000 personnel, local media reported.
The Ministry of National Defense did not say how many reservists would be involved in the drills.
The emphasis on reserves illustrates Taiwan’s efforts to address the military power asymmetry between itself and China, Yang said.
China has the world’s largest army, more than 2 million active-duty personnel, almost nine times the size of Taiwan’s active-duty armed forces.
Another focus of the military drills, reflecting Taiwan’s longstanding emphasis on civil defense, are urban resilience drills.
During the drills, mobile Internet speed is to be reduced for about 30 minutes in some areas to simulate telecommunications interference in case of an attack.
The emphasis on combat readiness and civilian preparedness reflect President William Lai’s (賴清德) priorities amid political constraints, National Taiwan University political science professor Lev Nachman said.
Lai has sought to pass a US$40 billion special defense budget for US arms purchases and local defense manufacturing, but a much smaller version of the budget, US$24.8 billion, was eventually approved by the opposition-controlled legislature.
“Given that Lai has been constrained on his ability to pass a budget that could even supply the kinds of weapons he would want to test, he has had to look to what he is able to do given the domestic political gridlock,” Nachman said.
Despite closer informal ties between Taiwan and US militaries, questions remain around a massive US$14 billion arms sales package to Taiwan that US President Donald Trump has yet to approve.
After traveling to China in May, Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with Beijing, raising anxieties about continued US support.
Trump also said after his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that he does not want to “travel 9,500 miles [15,300km] to fight a war” over Taiwan.
In that context, seeing the US influence on Taiwan’s military drills offers a “silver lining” in terms of Washington’s commitment to Taiwan, Nachman said.
“Even though Trump and those close to him have flip-flopped on supporting Taiwan, the connection between the two militaries remains strong, enough to at least ensure that Taiwan is still able to learn at a high level from the US,” he said.
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