• Taiwan conducted anti-landing drills on a strategic river to kick off the annual Han Kuang war games.
• The exercises aim to mimic actual combat, with no script and simulations focused on repelling a Chinese attack.
• On the first day of exercises in Tamsui, soldiers practiced laying mines and nets to thwart enemy landings.

On Monday, Taiwan conducted anti-landing drills on a strategic river to kick off the annual Han Kuang war games. This year, the exercises aim to closely mimic actual combat, with no script and simulations focused on repelling a Chinese attack.

China, which considers democratically governed Taiwan as its territory, has been staging regular exercises around the island for four years. These exercises aim to pressure Taipei into accepting Beijing’s claim of sovereignty, despite Taiwan’s strong objections.

This year, Taiwan has removed elements from its drills that were mostly for show, such as scripted firepower displays. The drills will now include intensified nighttime exercises and practice for operating with severed command lines.

On the first day of exercises in Tamsui, at the mouth of a major river leading to Taipei, soldiers practiced laying mines and nets to thwart enemy landings. These drills are part of a series designed to prevent the capital from being seized.

“We are trying our best to slow them down as much as possible,” military officer Chang Chih-pin told reporters, referring to a scenario where the enemy was trying to make landfall by sending rubber boats into the Tamsui River.

“The slower they move, the better for us,” he added.

Earlier on Monday, in nearby Taoyuan, outside of Taipei and home to Taiwan’s main international airport, reservists gathered to receive their orders as they would during wartime. Civilian vans were also pressed into service to transport supplies. On Thursday, Taoyuan airport will close for an hour in the morning for the drills. However, a typhoon expected to impact the island that day might delay the exercise.

Taiwan’s defense ministry also released video footage of Air Force fighter jets at the Hualien air base on the island’s east coast. This base features hangars carved into the side of a mountain to shield aircraft from aerial attacks. Live fire drills will occur only on Taiwan’s outlying islands, including Kinmen and Matsu, which lie close to the Chinese coast and experienced intermittent clashes during the height of the Cold War.

The five-day war games will coincide with the Wan’an civil defense drills, during which major city streets will be evacuated for half an hour to simulate a Chinese missile attack, and warning alarms will sound on mobile phones. This week’s drill scenarios include setting up contingency command lines after destroying existing hubs and dispersing Chinese forces attempting to land on Taiwan’s western coastline, according to a defense official involved in the planning.

China conducted two days of its war games around the island shortly after President Lai Ching-te took office in May, calling it “punishment” for his inauguration speech, which Beijing condemned as separatist. Additionally, China has employed grey zone warfare against Taiwan, using irregular tactics to keep Taiwan constantly on alert without engaging in open combat. This includes nearly daily air force missions into the skies near Taiwan.

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