FEATURE/Changes to annual Han Kuang defense drills cause mixed reactions

By Joseph Yeh, CNA staff reporter

For 40 years, Taiwan's annual Han Kuang exercises have tested the nation's combat readiness in the face of a possible Chinese invasion.

The military drills usually feature large-scale live-fire demonstrations, with Taiwan's president and top generals watching over the highly-publicized missile launches and anti-amphibious landing rehearsals.

Extensive media coverage of the drills is ostensibly to keep the public informed about the latest developments in the armed forces and to reassure them that the troops are capable of defending the nation.

But the annual Han Kuang drills have long been criticized for being little more than a photo-op that has limited practical impact on defense preparedness.

This year, however, some major changes are expected -- prompted by President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) appointment of a new defense chief who has a bold new vision for the Han Kuang exercises.

Wellington Koo (顧立雄), the first defense minister since 2013 who is neither an active or retired general, announced in June that he will cancel most live-fire exercises that are "put up for a show or demonstration purpose only."

Other aspects of the drills this year also face an overhaul, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

First, this year's live-fire exercises will be held at night for the first time to test the armed forces' 24-hour defense capabilities.

Second, the military's decentralized command structure will also be put to the test for the first time, with exercises that monitor units' decision-making capabilities in scenarios simulating loss of contact with central command during wartime.

Third, each soldier will be expected to follow updated Rules of Engagement (ROE) instructions that explain under what kinds of circumstances they are authorized to use certain weapons or launch counterattacks, for instance.

In sum, although the live-fire aspect will be reduced in this year's drills, participating troops will be more rigorously tested in a variety of scenarios that could occur without prior warning in a cross-strait war, according to the MND.

Military experts in Taiwan praise the proposed changes

Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), an assistant professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, said that the live-fire drills of previous Han Kuang exercises were impressive to watch, but had little actual value in preparing for real battlefield scenarios.

Lin also praised Koo's decision to test units' familiarity with the updated ROE, which was revised in 2023 following repeated incursions into Taiwan's air defense identification zone by Chinese warplanes, drones and balloons.

"In the event that the People's Liberation Army launches a full-scale invasion, it is highly likely that soldiers on the frontline could lose contact with the central command because the enemy would prioritize destroying communication systems," Lin explained.

It is extremely important that each soldier knows his or her ROE, informing them where their defensive posts are, and when and how to counterattack, the scholar added.

Lin also said that most of the exercises in previous Han Kuang drills were scripted and planned beforehand so that participating troops knew exactly when and where the simulated "invading force" would show up.

This year, the simulated "enemy attack" could happen anytime and anywhere with any available weapon systems, which would better simulate real battlefield conditions, he noted.

Some experts express criticism

Not all the experts are entirely happy with the proposed changes, however.

Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Chang Yen-ting (張延廷) condemned the decision to cancel the practical war game segment during a political talk show on June 24.

"How can soldiers fight if they cannot see their enemies? What will they be shooting at without simulated targets?" the retired general asked rhetorically during the radio show.

Chang was referring to simulated "invasions" at critical defensive positions across Taiwan where some military units were designated to play the role of "red" invading forces while other units posed as "blue" defense troops.

These red-blue team exercises have been canceled in this year's exercises, according to the MND.

"We might as well call off the Han Kuang drills," Chang said, suggesting that military exercises without a simulated enemy would be unrealistic and therefore lack practical value.

MND defends the proposed changes

Chief of the General Staff Admiral Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹) said at a June 26 legislative session that the main focus this year is to allow combined-arms brigades to focus on "familiarizing themselves with the environment they will be defending should a war break out and practice their defensive plans."

According to Mei, the cancellation of the red-blue team exercises was to enable the units that often play the invading "red" troops -- namely, Taiwan's Marine Corps and the Army's Aviation and Special Forces Command -- to better prepare for their main defensive missions.

Moreover, given the unrehearsed nature of the new Han Kuang drills format, the MND decided to cancel most of this year's live-fire exercises to reduce the chance of accidents, Mei said.

However, this does not mean that the armed forces have abandoned live-fire training and landing defense exercises, according to Mei.

Live-fire drills will also be staged at two other routine exercises scheduled for this year.

And although live-fire drills have been canceled on Taiwan's main island, troops stationed on the nation's smaller islands will also conduct live-fire drills from July 22 to 26, he added.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at Taiwan's military-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he understands the rationale behind the changes.

Su told CNA that the simulated "situations" during Han Kuang will not be announced in advance to put participating military personnel under greater pressure. This will simulate situations that more closely resemble actual combat scenarios and thus "unleash their potential."

Scholar suggests compromise to maximize drill effectiveness

Chieh Chung (揭仲), a researcher at the Taipei-based think tank Association of Strategic Foresight, is not convinced that all the changes proposed by the new defense minister are a good idea.

Chieh believes there is nothing wrong with red-blue team exercises and the only changes Taiwan military needs is to make such combat adversarial training more "realistic and unscripted" rather than "canceling them altogether."

He also thinks it is illogical that the MND has decided to cancel live-fire exercises for troops on Taiwan proper during Han Kuang while continuing live-round shootings on offshore islands.

Chieh suggests that the MND could consider downsizing the scale of live-fire portion of the Han Kuang exercises on Taiwan proper so that soldiers could better know their defensive roles while simultaneously getting shooting practice for defending against invading enemy forces.

The live-fire component of the annual Han Kuang exercises are scheduled to run from July 22 to 26 this year.

Enditem/JT