
The Han Kuang Exercise () is the annual
military exercise
A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the com ...
of the
Republic of China Armed Forces in
Taiwan,
Penghu
The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
,
Kinmen and
Matsu for combat readiness in the event of an attack from the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
of the
People's Republic of China.
Overview
The exercise is divided into two phases, which are the ''Command Post Exercise'' (CPX) and the computer-simulated war gaming followed by ''Field Training Exercises'' (FTX).
Since at least 2017 the exercise has been fully bilingual with both Mandarin and English being used.
History
1984
The exercise was first held by Army General
Hau Pei-tsun (the then Chief of the General Staff) on 23 April 1984.
2000
The 2000 exercise was held on August, focusing on
anti-missile, anti-landing, anti-airborne landing and anti-
air raid
Air raid may refer to:
Attacks
* Airstrike
* Strategic bombing
Other uses
* ''Air Raid'' (album), by the improvisational collective Air
* Air Raid ''(Transformers)'', the name of three characters in the Transformers universes
* ''Air Raid'' ...
.
2001
The 2001 exercise was held from 26 March until 28 April.
2006
The 2006 exercise was held at the coastal area of
Yilan County, attended by President
Chen Shui-bian and Vice President
Annette Lu and involving around 13,000 servicemen. It was the first time the
Patriot-II missiles were deployed.
2008
The 2008 exercise was held on 23–27 June for the computer-simulated war gaming, while the field training exercises were held on 22–26 September.
2011
The 2011 exercise was held on 11–15 April in
Taichung City and
Pingtung County
Pingtung County is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pin ...
.
2012
In the 2012 exercise, President
Ma Ying-jeou was out of Taiwan during the drill due to his diplomatic visits to three
African countries, making the first time of the exercise with the absence of the
president.
2013
The 2013 5-day exercise was held in April 2013 in
Penghu
The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
.
2014
The 2014 exercise was held in
Chiayi County and
Penghu County. Civilian airplanes were used for the first time for personnel transport, carrying military officers and reservists from
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
to Penghu.
2015
The 2015 exercise consisted of two stages. The first stage was held on 4–8 May 2015, designed to test the military's combat capabilities after undergoing streamlining process end of 2014. The second stage is currently held from 7–11 September 2015 simulating attack from the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
. New weapon systems of
Lockheed P-3 Orion marine patrol aircraft, Tuo Jiang stealth missile corvette, Pan Shi supply vessel, Cloud Leopard armored vehicle and remote-controlled aerial vehicles. The exercise is held at a military base in northern
Hsinchu County
Hsinchu County (Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; with a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the county capital, where ...
.
2016
The 2016 exercise was held on 22–26 August 2016. The exercise saw the
National Airborne Service Corps involved for the first time. There were in total 1,072 tests performed during the exercise.
2017
The 2017 exercise consisted of two stages. The first stage was held on 1–5 May 2017. The exercise included scenario when the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
(PLA) deploys three
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
s,
stealth aircraft
Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection using a variety of technologies that reduce reflection/emission of radar, infrared, visible light, radio frequency (RF) spectrum, and audio, collectively known as stealth technology. The F-117 N ...
and missiles. It focused on preserving combat capability using the collected information and surveillance data and countering the
blockades and
landings
Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...
in Taiwan.
The second stage was held on 22–26 May 2017. It included simulations of attacks on
Ching Chuan Kang Air Base by the PLA to test the ROC armed forces combat and defense capabilities on the coordinated response to simulated threats from the PLA. The exercise included locations such as
Penghu
The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
and
Taiping Island.
2018
The 2018 exercise was held on 4 June 2018 for five days. It was proceeded with computer-aided war games on 30 April to 5 May. The exercise consists of several main points, which are joint air-sea combat operation, anti-landing operations and joint anti-airborne combat operations. This exercise was also the first one to include civilian resources in its drill. On the first day of the exercise, an
F-16 fighter jet with tail number 6648 went missing at 1:43 p.m. over northern Taiwan after taking off at 1:09 p.m. The aircraft was subsequently found crashed at 4:18 p.m. by
fire fighters after receiving initial reports from a hiker at 3:22 p.m. The
air force then ordered to temporarily grounded all of F-16 aircraft until further notice pending investigation.
2019
The 2019 exercise started with computer-aided war games between 22–26 April 2019. It then continued with live-fire drills on 27–21 May 2019. The live exercise featured the takeoff and landing exercise of the
Republic of China Air Force aircraft on the
Huatan section of
National freeway 1 in
Changhua County.
2020
The 2020 exercise saw the participation of the
National Police Agency’s
Thunder Squad and the
Coast Guard Administration’s
Special Task Unit for the first time. They participated alongside military special forces units in
anti-decapitation drills.
During the 2020 exercise a
Ching Chiang-class patrol ships with special
electronic warfare equipment was used to interfere with the signals collection of Chinese spy ships operating off
Orchid Island.
See also
*
Republic of China Armed Forces
*
Ministry of National Defense (Republic of China)
References
{{Military of the Republic of China
1984 establishments in Taiwan
Military exercises and wargames
Military of the Republic of China