The annual Han Kuang exercise will begin on July 9, last for ten days, and will mobilize more than 22 000 reservists. The military will simulate a blockade and invasion by the PRC. These are the largest exercises in the countryʼs history, and they will take place against the backdrop of increasing pressure from China.
Reuters writes about this.
The head of the Joint Department of Combat Planning of the Ministry of Defense Tong Zhi-hsing said that the exercise scenarios include a joint fire attack and the crossing of a landing group by the PRC army. Taiwanʼs armed forces will practice building a chain of strikes using precision attacks from the sea and from the air.
Along with the military exercises, civil defense exercises will also be held. They will include missile alerts and practice evacuations in major cities.
- Tensions in the Asia-Pacific region are rising amid Chinaʼs threats to seize Taiwan, a US ally. The ruling Communist Party considers Taiwan part of its territory. Beijing has increasingly promised to "reunify" the island with mainland China by 2022. The 46th US President Joe Biden has said the United States would defend Taiwan if attacked.
- According to Taiwanʼs Ministry of Defense, Chinese military aircraft enter Taiwanʼs air defense zone more than 245 times a month — five years ago there were fewer than 10 such "visits". In addition, approximately 120 crossings of the median line in the Taiwan Strait are recorded every month, which effectively destroys this unofficial border.
- In March 2023, Chinese leader Xi Jinping called on Chinaʼs troops to prepare for war, and on the eve of 2024 said that "reunification" was inevitable. Taiwanʼs Foreign Ministry predicts a possible attack by China in 2027.
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