Taiwan launches 10-day drills to test defenses against possible Chinese invasion

Taiwan began its annual Han Kuang exercises, a 10-day series of live-fire and urban resilience drills designed to prepare for a potential Chinese attack.

Taiwan kicked off its annual Han Kuang military exercises, a ten-day program aimed at rehearsing a response to a possible Chinese invasion of the island. The live-fire component will assess the army's capacity to sustain continuous defense and to counter China's gray-zone tactics that fall short of open war. Over 5,000 reservists, the largest mobilization to date, will be tested on how quickly they can shift from peacetime standby to active duty across two brigades.

Urban resilience drills will be conducted in Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taipei, where mobile internet speeds will be reduced for about half an hour to simulate telecom interference. New communication protocols, including backbriefs where subordinates outline mission execution plans, are being introduced to encourage self-reliance among frontline troops. The exercises will also showcase the M1A2T Abrams tanks, part of the 108-tank purchase from the United States completed in April. These drills come amid heightened Chinese military pressure and pending U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.