DEFENSE/Han Kuang drills to test supply line resiliency in case of blockade

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) The live-fire component of Taiwan's largest annual military exercise is scheduled to begin on Monday, with a special drill dedicated to testing the nation's ability to defend critical supply lines in the event of an attempted blockade by China.

The 40th annual Han Kuang exercises will run 24/7 nationwide from July 22-26, with an emphasis on testing Taiwan's ability to protect critical infrastructure in its capital as well as to enhance the resilience of its key infrastructure nationwide, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

But an unnamed military source familiar with this year's Han Kuang exercises told CNA on Sunday that it was also important for Taiwan to continue to receive supplies from foreign countries and deliver them nationwide should a cross-strait war break out.

The source said that a drill aimed at testing military-civilian cooperation to carry out wartime supply-delivery missions will therefore be staged at a major port in Taiwan during the five-day live-fire drills to ensure links to the outside world could remain open in the event of a Chinese blockade.

The source, however, would not name the port nor when the drill will be staged.

Other unnamed military sources also confirmed to CNA that this drill is set to involve multiple government branches.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a military general told CNA that the nation's armed forces have been regularly carrying out training activities focused on protecting key harbors and ports, since Beijing would prioritize shutting down these sites during an invasion.

Such protection and supply-delivery missions would involve not only the military but also the transportation ministry's Maritime and Port Bureau, Coast Guard Administration and other land transportation authorities, according to the unnamed general.

"That is why it is important to test cross-governmental cooperation in the upcoming Han Kuang exercises," the source added.

Defense scholar and retired Navy captain Jiang Hsin-biao (江炘杓) told CNA that Taiwan is heavily dependent on maritime imports of crude oil, natural gas, coal, steel and other strategic supplies.

"It is therefore important to make sure taking delivery of such key supplies would remain normal if a war broke out," he said.

Such a task is extremely complicated and involves coordination between the Navy and maritime transportation, he said, adding that Taiwan has not conducted such large-scale drills for a long period of time.

In addition, the MND on Sunday also announced in a press release that it plans to launch Artificial Intelligence (AI) news anchors that can speak 18 different languages during the 40th edition of Han Kuang. This application of AI technology aims to enhance communication with the international community by sharing information relating to Taiwan's national defense situation.

According to the MND, Air Force fighter jets that were originally deployed in the western part of Taiwan on Monday will be dispatched to Hualien Air Base in the east in a simulation of an invasion.

This will be done to ensure that the main backbone of the nation's fighter jets in the west side of the island that is closer to the Chinese mainland will be able to maintain a state of combat readiness in the eastern part of Taiwan as well, it said.

Meanwhile, all of Taiwan's large naval vessels will leave their home ports early on Monday and sail to designated locations off the coast in preparation for training simulations involving scenarios such as confronting enemy forces and deploying naval mines to slow down an enemy invasion, the MND said.

The Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan's biggest annual defense drills, have been held every year since 1984 to test Taiwan's combat readiness in the face of a possible Chinese invasion.

The 40th Han Kuang exercises this year include a tabletop war games phase that was completed between April 19-26, around three months before the live-fire exercise component scheduled for July 22-26.