Taiwan to conduct military drills to practice ways to break blockade

The Taiwanese armed forces will conduct their annual Han Kuang exercises to practice breaking a blockade of the island, the Taipei Times newspaper writes, citing Tung Chih-hsing, head of the Defense Ministry’s joint combat planning department.

According to the plan, the Taiwanese military will practice responding to a simulated enemy’s drills suddenly turning into an operation to establish a blockade of the island. In order to unblock Taiwan’s communications with the outside world, the armed forces will use aircraft, warships, coastal-based missile systems and drones. The lessons of the conflict in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip will be integrated into the drills, Tung said.

Tabletop exercises involving the US-built Joint Theater Level Simulation platform will take place on April 19-26, while actual combat drills are set to be held on July 22-26.

The Han Kuang exercises involving all types of Taiwan’s armed forces have been taking place since 1984.