Taiwan’s ‘longest-ever’ Han Kuang drills kick off, only exposes incapability against PLA: experts

Hyped as the longest-ever, the island of Taiwan's annual Han Kuang drills kicked off on Wednesday, local media reported. While seemingly aimed at improving defense for the Taiwan authorities, the exercise only exposes the Taiwan military's lack of confidence and capability against the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and has become merely a political show, according to Chinese mainland military experts.

According to the island's defense authority, the 10-day, nine-night Han Kuang exercises from Wednesday through July 18 are twice as long as previous live-fire segments, which normally lasted five days and four nights, Focus Taiwan, the English-language version of the island's "Central News Agency," said on Wednesday.

The first three days of the drills will focus on how Taiwan's military collectively counters the Chinese mainland's "gray zone" tactics, and after that, the drills will move on to their "full-scale combat" phase from July 13 to 18, which will include joint anti-landing operations on July 13, coastal and beachhead combat on July 14, in-depth defense from July 15 to 16, and protracted warfare from July 17 to 18, according to the report.

The DPP authorities of the Taiwan island have stubbornly clung to their separatist stance on "Taiwan independence," recklessly inciting cross-Straits confrontation and wasting public resources to promote the notion of arming all civilians, forcibly tying Taiwan residents to the chariot of separatism, said Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, in response to media inquiries about Taiwan's Han Kuang drills.

Such moves, aimed at "seeking independence through military means" and "preparing for war to pursue independence," will only further undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and jeopardize the safety and well-being of people on the island, Chen said.

"'Taiwan independence' is a dead end, and reunification is unstoppable," he stressed. "No matter how much the DPP authorities bluff or indulge in military theatrics, their efforts are nothing but futile posturing. No amount of drills can change the doomed fate of 'Taiwan independence,' nor can they stand in the way of the inevitable trend of national reunification."

This year's Han Kuang drills include some slight changes, such as practices against the so-called "gray zone" tactics. Another change is the shift from coastal combat to in-depth defense and protracted warfare, which could also include practicing for the Taiwan regional leader's evacuation, said Wang Yunfei, a Chinese mainland military affairs expert. He indicated that this means the "Taiwan independence" forces are admitting that they cannot stop the PLA from landing and eventually taking control of the island.

Zhang Junshe, another Chinese mainland military affairs expert, told the Global Times that the scenario settings of the Han Kuang exercise show that the DPP authorities have a clear understanding of the outcome of "resisting reunification by force."

It also shows the "Taiwan independence" forces' plan for a last-ditch fight, attempting to prolong the combat and wait for external forces to come to their aid, Zhang said, adding that the DPP authorities also know well that the island of Taiwan heavily relies on maritime transport lanes, and in the event of a military conflict, these lanes would be cut off by the PLA.

The island's drills do not demonstrate any substantial capability to stand up against the PLA, while the PLA has displayed and honed its capabilities in multiple joint exercises around the island of Taiwan over the past few years. For instance, the PLA Eastern Theater Command conducted joint exercises from April 1 to 2 this year, organizing its army, navy, air and rocket forces to close in on Taiwan island from multiple directions. These drills mainly focused on sea-air combat-readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, assault on maritime and ground targets, and blockade on key areas and sea lanes so as to test the joint operations capabilities of its troops, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command, announced at the time.

It is a stern warning and forceful deterrent against "Taiwan Independence" separatist forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China's sovereignty and national unity, Shi said.

During the PLA's drills, an H-6K bomber carried a YJ-21 air-launched ballistic missile. Zhang said that the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces' current air defense systems have no means of countering the hypersonic YJ-21 - in fact, there are hardly any forces in the world capable of effectively intercepting it. 

So, exercises like Han Kuang are nothing more than a political theatre trying to boost the "Taiwan independence" forces' own courage, deceive people on the island, and mislead international public opinion, Wang said.

In response to reports on the Han Kuang drills, which are scheduled to feature many US weapons, Jiang Bin, a spokesperson at China's Ministry of National Defense, said on Tuesday that the Han Kuang exercise is nothing but a bluff and self-deceiving stunt by the DPP authorities to hijack Taiwan compatriots onto its "Taiwan independence" war chariot. The DPP authorities are harming Taiwan out of its selfish interests.

"We solemnly warn the DPP authorities that 'seeking independence by force' is a dead end. No matter what subjects they drill or what weapons they use, the PLA's resolute countermeasures against 'Taiwan Independence' will not be deterred, nor would the overwhelming and irresistible trend of China's national reunification be halted," Jiang said.