Taiwan launched annual Han Kuang military exercises

The 37th annual Han Kuang military exercises officially began on September 13, 2021. The five-day live-fire drills are Taiwan's major war games involving all military branches. It tested the armed forces' capability to fend off a Chinese invasion.  The first day’s drills were focused on testing the military's preservation and maintenance of combat capabilities in the event of a full-scale Chinese invasion.   As part of the drills, Air Force fighter jets F-16Vs and Mirage 2000s,that were originally deployed in the western part of the island, were dispatched to Hualien Air Base in the east in a simulation of a Chinese invasion.   Military C-130 transport aircraft and IDF jets also participated the drills.  It was reported that all of the nation's major naval vessels also left their home ports and sailed to designated locations off the island's coast in preparation for confronting enemy forces.  In addition, a biological agent containment exercise was held in southern Tainan City, in response to a mock assault where troops were attacked by bioweapons.

Soldiers were promptly sent to nearby hospitals to be treated by civilian doctors. The military also rehearsed its procedures for the decontamination of vehicles and equipment during the Tainan drill.  A military aircraft emergency landing and take-off drill was held on a standard highway in southern Taiwan for the first time on September 15.  According to the military, the drill tests pilots' ability to land on the 24-meter wide road in the event airstrips at the nearby Pingtung Air Base are seriously damaged by enemy forces. 

The drill was witnessed by President Tsai Ing-wen, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, senior government and military officials and the press.  The last day of military exercises included a drill to test the counterstrike capabilities of IDF.  After the end of the drills, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng passed on President Tsai Ing-wen's encouragement to the armed forces for their hard work during the exercises.