Taiwan kicks off its largest and longest-ever annual military exercise

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Taiwan is holding its largest and longest-ever annual military exercise, training to respond to simulated mainland Chinese grey-zone operations – those just under the threshold of open conflict and aimed at intimidating and exhausting Taiwan’s defences. The 10-day, round-the-clock war game, which started on July 9, 2025, was described as being designed to reflect a more realistic and protracted cross-strait conflict scenario. The 41st edition of the Han Kuang exercise marks a significant departure from previous years, both in scale and duration. Rather than the usual five-day format, the current drills have been extended to 10 days and 9 nights and conducted without scripts or fixed timelines to mimic battlefield unpredictability, according to Taiwan’s defence ministry. The first batch of 38 US-bought M1A2T Abrams tanks was included in a live-fire exercise at a military base in Hsinchu, where Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te visited to inspect the drills.