Taiwan concluded its largest-ever 10-day military exercise on Friday, simulating an all-of-society response to a potential full-scale invasion by mainland China.
The Han Kuang drills, held from July 9 to July 18, marked the most extensive and resource-intensive iteration of the annual war games to date. Lasting twice as long as in previous years, the exercises involved over 22,000 reservists and emphasized unscripted, scenario-based training to better mimic real combat conditions.
In addition to military maneuvers, the drills included full-scale civil defense simulations. Civilians participated in mock air raid scenarios, fleeing homes and office buildings to shelters and underground parking facilities, rehearsing what would happen in the event of a Chinese missile or airstrike campaign.
Taiwan also showcased new military hardware during the exercises, including the U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), which were recently deployed with Taiwan’s first operational HIMARS unit. Other weaponry on display included newly acquired Abrams M1A2T tanks, domestically-produced Sky Sword II missiles and drones, as well as Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles.
The drills come amid steadily escalating tensions in the Indo-Pacific. The Trump administration, which has placed greater strategic focus on countering China, reportedly approached allies Japan and Australia earlier this week to clarify their roles in the event of a war over Taiwan. Western media reports suggest Tokyo and Canberra were uneasy, interpreting the outreach as a push by Washington for them to assume front-line responsibilities in the Taiwan Strait should a conflict erupt.
Some analysts have noted that despite Washington’s failure to secure a freeze in the conflict in Ukraine and its deepening military commitments in the Middle East, U.S. policymakers—particularly within the hawkish wing of the national security establishment—appear intent on continuing a course toward eventual confrontation with China. This, they argue, comes despite the growing depletion of American weapons stockpiles and logistical strain across multiple theaters of operation.
China has publicly dismissed the exercises. The Chinese Defense Ministry labeled them ineffective against the capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which simultaneously carried out amphibious landing drills in the coastal province of Fujian—directly across the Strait from Taiwan.