EZReview - Largest drill in Taiwan

 Annual Exercise of Taiwan

Beijing sits and watches

EZReview - July 9th, 2025

On July 9th, 2025, Taiwan started its largest ever military drills on Wednesday, with a simulated attack on its command systems and infrastructure ahead of a Chinese invasion, said the senior defense official. 

This annual Han Kuang exercise will focus on testing how Taiwan's military can decentralize command in the event of a crippling communications attack. Over the next ten days, the drill will expand to assess Taiwan's combat readiness against a full-scale attempt to seize the island. Cyber attacks and misinformation campaigns are seen by Taiwan as high-intensity "grey zone actions that are likely to precede a broader Chinese assault.

"Commanders have to think about what issues their troops might face and they need to pass them down to their subordinates," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the operation.

This annual Han Kuang exercise will mobilize the largest number of reservists, around 22,000. Since Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, and any attack on Taiwan could ignite a broader regional war. 

Taiwanese defence officials said they believed that the Chinese military would be closely monitoring the drills by 6 a.m. Taiwan had detected 31 Chinese aircraft sorties and seven warships. The local media reported Tuesday that a passenger spotted the Chinese amphibious warship shortly before landing at Taipei Songshan Airport on Friday.