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Taiwan Concludes Annual Han Kuang Military Exercises

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2 sources across 2 countries · Taiwan · United Kingdom

Who reported this

  • Focus Taiwan Taiwan · Centre · Public · Central News Agency, statutory funding
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation

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Taiwan has concluded its annual Han Kuang military exercises, which ran for 10 days starting August 5. Defense Minister Wellington Koo praised the troops and urged officers to address issues identified during the drills to strengthen combat readiness. The exercises, which are the largest scale war games since 1984, are designed to test the country's readiness for a possible Chinese invasion. This year's drills utilized an unscripted format with fully operational command centers at all levels, requiring units to respond to dynamic orders based on developing threats.

As part of the exercises, the Taiwan Navy and Coast Guard conducted their first ever joint anti blockade drill. The operation involved escorting a merchant ship, simulated by a Yushan class landing platform dock, to Hualien Port and Suao Port to deliver essential supplies. The drill included the deployment of the Coast Guard Administration's Taichung patrol cutter, the Bali patrol vessel, and two 100 tonne patrol boats. Garrison forces used CM21 armored vehicles and an Avenger air defense system to secure the port against infiltrated enemy forces and airborne threats. Private sector cranes and flatbed trucks were also used to transport containers inland.

Other components of the Han Kuang exercises included a drill in Yilan County to simulate the blocking of Hsuehshan Tunnel and a bridge blockade drill in Taipei's Wanhua District to prevent armored units from advancing into the capital. Additionally, an urban resilience drill in northern Taiwan caused a temporary slowdown in mobile internet services to test emergency responses.

China described the annual military drills as a wasteful charade.

How each side framed it

Centre
Center leaning sources focused on the operational details of the drills and the official statements from Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.