DEFENSE/Han Kuang drills to last 10 days, 9 nights, focus on 'gray zone' tactics

Taipei, July 1 (CNA) The live-fire portion of this year's Han Kuang military exercises will be twice as long as previous drills and have an added focus on China's "gray zone" tactics -- coercive actions that fall short of open conflict, a defense official said Tuesday.

Major General Tung Chi-hsing (董冀星), director of the Ministry of National Defense's (MND) joint operations planning division, said the 10 day, nine-night Han Kuang exercises from July 9-18 are double the length of previous exercises which lasted five days and four nights.

Past Han Kuang drills were accelerated so the time required for participants to engage enemies was shortened, whereas this year's drills will allow simulated battles to play out in full, Tung said.

Regarding the key focuses of the Han Kuang drills, Tung noted that they are based on lessons from last year's exercises, including a continued emphasis on decentralized operations, comprehensive logistical support, rules of engagement, strengthening rapid decision-making, improving synchronization of joint operations, boosting civilian-military coordination and clarifying military action authorization mechanisms.

Tung explained that the scenario begins with gray zone harassment from the Chinese military, transitioning through phases such as peace-to-war shift, force deployment, joint anti-landing operations, coastal and beachhead combat, in-depth defense, and protracted warfare.

These simulate a full spectrum of defensive combat and civil-military integration, he added.

On simulated gray zone actions by China, Tung said the military has identified several scenarios, including deception, attrition and provocation.

These actions occur before a formal outbreak of war and are likely forms of interference by China against Taiwan, he said, adding that the armed forces will develop counterstrategies and initiate "immediate readiness" training for active-duty units to prepare for such threats.

According to Tung, the first three days of the exercises will focus on gray zone response, and participating troops will enter the force deployment phase on July 12 during "contingency operations."

The "full-scale combat" phase will take place from July 13-18 and include joint anti-landing operations on July 13, coastal and beachhead combat on July 14, in-depth defense on July 15-16, and protracted warfare on July 17-18, Tung said.

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Asked by a reporter whether some drills could be canceled due to approaching typhoons, as was the case last year, Tung explained that if two counties or cities within a combat zone are affected by typhoons or earthquakes, drills in that zone will be suspended to prioritize disaster relief.

If two or more combat zones across Taiwan and its outlying islands are affected, the Han Kuang exercises will be canceled in their entirety, and the drills will be rescheduled or incorporated into subsequent immediate readiness training or combat preparedness exercises, he said.