Taiwan kicked off its 37th annual Han Kuang exercise on Monday, conducting simulations to prepare the island for a potential Chinese attack.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported on the event’s opening, which will last for five days. Taiwan defense forces simulated several attack scenarios and responses in various parts of the island.
Biological containment troops responded to a mock attack in Tainan, south Taiwan, then rushed the “victims” to a hospital. Following that, decontamination teams drilled in cleanup measures.
Navy warships practiced defense against attacks on military bases.
An upcoming exercise in the southern county of Pingtung will have F-16 fighters practicing takeoffs and landings on regular roads in a mock incident of enemies attacking and destroying their airbase.
Han Kuang Exercises
Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang exercises are broken up into two types of training.
The Command Post Exercise structures simulations to practice responses to realistic potential conflicts, while Field Training Exercises are a computer-simulated series of war games.
The 2021 edition of the exercise was originally slated for July, but due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases was postponed.
It was not until August when military officials announced the tentative September schedule, with the scale and scope of some activities modified from original plans.