The Republic of China’s annual Han Kuang series of military drills, which involve civilians as well as soldiers, began on Wednesday. They last from August 5 to August 14.
The relatively modest training for Taiwanese civilians includes air raid drills and a half-hour slowdown of mobile Internet, the latter serving to remind that war can be inconvenient even when you’re not under fire (AFP, August 5, 2026).
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 practised loading mortars and handling M4A1 rifles.
Navy vessels, including a submarine, were deployed in southern Taiwan, while tanks and other armoured vehicles conducted pre-dawn manoeuvres 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 defence official said on the eve of the drills, on the condition of anonymity in order to speak to the media.
A key part of this year’s exercise is decentralizing command and control to enable commanders and officers on the battlefield to make operational decisions without waiting for orders.
Reuters notes that the exercise will for the first time incorporate “a so-called ‘backbrief’ approach modelled on U.S. military practice, in which junior officers receiving orders restate mission details to commanders—a move aimed at improving coordination, [according to two senior Taiwan officials]…. The move, one of the officials said, is to ‘ensure commanders and subordinates are in sync on operational intent.’…
“The military will also introduce an ‘embedded reporter’ mechanism to assess wartime frontline news releases and efforts to counter enemy disinformation, the officials said.”
Fines for slackers
Participation in the air drills is mandatory for civilians within the areas of the drills. If a person is directed to take shelter, he may pay a price for refusing.
According to the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency website, “All government agencies, military units, schools, groups, companies, factories, stations, or individuals within the exercise area failing…to cooperate with control measures and drills may face fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000” (the latter is around 5,000 U.S. dollars). The fines seem to be at least occasionally enforced.
