Taiwan's Largest Annual Military Drills Simulate China Invasion Scenario

Taiwan's largest annual military drills, known as the Han Kuang exercises, have begun with a record 22,000 reserve soldiers participating. The exercises, which will be the biggest and longest-running to date, aim to simulate how the country could respond in the event of an attack by China. The drills, which started with basic practice, will progress to combat and tactical movements, and will also include urban resilience preparedness drills and simulations of Chinese militia boats and coastguard vessels sailing near the island.

Key Takeaways:

• The Han Kuang exercises will involve 22,000 reserve soldiers, with the drills simulating an attack by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory.
• The exercises will practice responding to China's "grey zone" pressure, which includes cyber attacks, intrusions of ships and aircraft, and damage to undersea cables.
• The drills will also focus on countering China's military superiority, which includes more than six times the number of tanks and aircraft than Taiwan.
• The exercises will include unscripted scenarios to test soldiers' response to unexpected attacks.
• Mobile phones will receive alerts about incoming attacks, and air raid sirens will blare out across cities.

Statistics:

• 22,000 reserve soldiers are participating in the Han Kuang exercises.
• Taiwan has 180,000 soldiers and as many as 1.67 million reservists.
• China has more than two million active soldiers and 1.2 million reservists.
• China has more than six times the number of tanks than Taiwan.
• China has nearly five times more artillery than Taiwan.
• 31 PLA aircraft and seven vessels were detected around the island yesterday.

Sources:

• The Telegraph
• Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence
• China's Ministry of National Defence
• China's PLA (People's Liberation Army).