By Jia Feimao | 2025-07-28

Taiwan concluded its largest-ever Han Kuang military exercises on July 18, marking a significant strategic shift from traditional beachhead defense toward realistic urban warfare and, notably, military-civilian integration.

The 10-day exercise mobilized almost 22,000 reservists for urban combat training, underscoring Taiwan's intention to build not only a front-line military response but also a resilient civilian defense architecture capable of withstanding a drawn-out urban conflict.

Civilian personnel participated alongside troops in drills to keep logistics routes open and to maintain essential government services under simulated attack.

This year's exercises largely focused on countering "gray-zone" tactics and preparing for extended urban resistance following a hypothetical China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) landing.

Gray zone refers to Chinese tactics that fall short of outright warfare but are designed to exhaust Taiwanese forces who must respond.

For the first time, Taiwan's military utilized Taipei's subway system for underground redeployment.

To simulate combat under missile attack, military police operated within the subway, conducting air defense and counterattack maneuvers with rifles, Red Arrow rockets and Stinger missiles.

Simultaneously, logistics teams used engineering flatcars to transport ammunition and supplies.

This unprecedented use of civilian subway infrastructure aimed to minimize exposure to aerial threats in the island's densely populated urban environments.

As part of the urban combat scenario, forces practiced closing Wanban Bridge -- a critical chokepoint just 10 minutes' drive from the Presidential Office Building. Military police deployed layered defenses supported by a CM-34 "Clouded Leopard" armored vehicle.

By establishing defensive depth at this urban artery, the exercise aimed to delay, disrupt and ultimately repel invading forces before they could threaten Taiwan's leadership and infrastructure.

The drills incorporated key US-supplied systems such as M1A2T Abrams tanks, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and Patriot air defense missiles.

In Taichung, HIMARS units simulated strikes on invading forces across the Taiwan Strait, while near Taipei, Patriot systems were deployed to protect critical infrastructure from air and missile threats.

Realistic training

Jieh Chung, a research fellow at the Association of Strategic Foresight, described 2025's Han Kuang exercises as "the most realistic to date."

Conducting live drills in real urban environments allowed the armed forces to identify operational weaknesses and train personnel for their expanded wartime responsibilities, he told Focus.

The drills underscore concerns that PLA drills could rapidly escalate into real conflict, he said, emphasizing the need for units to revisit rules of engagement and contingency planning to ensure both legal and operational preparedness.

US participation was more visible than in previous years. US advisors not only observed but provided hands-on instruction on US military protocols to Taiwanese reservists.

As one reservist shared on social media, "It was no longer just a formality, but training close to actual combat," The Liberty Times reported July 19.

Investments in urban resilience, now common in NATO defense frameworks, should be considered part of national defense, Lin Ying-yu, an associate professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, told Focus.

The goal is to ensure that both infrastructure and emergency services remain functional even under sustained attack.

The drills enhanced Taiwan's capacity to counter gray-zone threats and tested firepower deep inside defensive lines, Defense Minister Wellington Koo stated on July 18.

Exercises conducted in realistic, complex city environments inherently raise the risk of accidents, said Koo.

Several incidents occurred in Taiwan's densely built-up areas during the drills, including armored vehicle rollovers and military-civilian traffic collisions.

These accidents highlight both the challenges and advantages of operating in Taiwan's urban terrain, a foreign military observer told the Financial Times on July 14.

"It would be a nightmare for an attacker," the source said. "It really is very defensible, but that only applies if your own forces have mastered operating in this maze."

Fostering public readiness

China strongly condemned the Han Kuang exercises and the deployment of US-supplied HIMARS.

On July 9, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning reiterated Beijing's "consistent" and "firm" opposition to US-Taiwan military ties, warning that Taiwanese attempts to gain independence "will not succeed."

Defense Ministry spokesman Jiang Bin on July 14 said that "resisting reunification by force is a dead end."

During Han Kuang, the PLA Eastern Theatre Command launched a parallel series of military exercises, including electronic warfare, naval operations and joint air-sea patrols, according to the South China Morning Post.

PLA aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line and entered Taiwan's air defense identification zones from multiple directions. While Beijing did not release the specific dates of the exercises, the maneuvers closely aligned with Han Kuang's timeline.

Han Kuang 2025's expanded focus on urban warfare and civilian coordination marks a broader shift in Taiwan's national defense strategy.

As Lin of Tamkang University wrote in The Diplomat on July 25, fostering public readiness is now essential.

"There is no longer a clear distinction between the frontlines and rear areas in a Taiwan Strait conflict," he wrote.