For the first time, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercise will combine conventional war games and urban survival drills under “unprecedented” live-fire conditions when it gets under way next week.
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The move signals growing concerns in Taipei that Beijing could trigger a prolonged conflict requiring both military defence and civilian resilience.
The 41st Han Kuang exercise from July 9 to 18 would test joint operational readiness under “unprecedented 10-day, round-the-clock live-fire conditions”, the Taiwanese defence ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry stated that this year’s edition would incorporate the “whole-of-society resilience” approach, introduced last year by Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te as an updated civil defence model.
The urban drills would feature air-raid warnings, mass evacuations and critical infrastructure protection across multiple regions. The aim, the ministry said, was to simulate a full-spectrum response to war – from the initial non-military “grey zone” pressure to full attack, coastal landings, and extended urban warfare.
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Shandong aircraft carrier moves into Taiwan response zone ahead of PLA drills
Shandong aircraft carrier moves into Taiwan response zone ahead of PLA drills
“Only through readiness can we preserve peace,” said Major General Tung Chi-hsing, head of the ministry’s joint operations planning division, emphasising that integration of civil defence and national mobilisation was key to Taiwan’s overall resilience.