Naval and coast guard ships to escort supplies during a simulation of a Chinese blockade in waters east of the island.
TAIWAN military personnel conduct a live-fire exercise on Zhongfu Beach as part of annual Han Kuang military exercise in New Taipei City on 5 August 2026.
I-HWA cheng/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
TAIPEI (AFP) — Taiwan’s largest military drills of the year began Wednesday as the island democracy attempts to prepare its population for a potential Chinese invasion.
The annual “Han Kuang” exercise, which runs from 5 to 14 August, stages combat scenarios for troops and reservists to practise responding to an attack on the island, defense officials say.
Civilians will also be put through their paces during exercises that include a temporary slowdown of mobile internet speeds as well as air raid drills.
China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize the island of 23 million people.
Beijing has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, deploying fighter jets and warships around the island on an almost daily basis and carrying out large-scale drills.
The Chinese coast guard has also stepped up its grey zone activities — actions that fall short of war — around Taiwan and its outer islands.
On Wednesday, dozens of reservists spread out along a beach facing the Taiwan Strait and fired Taiwanese-made assault rifles at targets on a shore where Chinese forces could land during an invasion.
At a school playground in Taipei, reservists practiced loading mortars and handling M4A1 rifles.
Navy vessels, including a submarine, were deployed in southern Taiwan, while tanks and other armored vehicles conducted pre-dawn maneuvers on the streets of the central city of Taichung.
Black Hawk helicopters were also seen flying in the sky above Kaohsiung.
“In recent years, we’ve constantly emphasized that the Han Kuang exercise must be closer to real combat scenarios, so that even without actually experiencing war our units can test their real operational capabilities,” a senior defense official said on the eve of the drills, on the condition of anonymity in order to speak to the media.
