Illustration: Xia Qing/GT
The annual Han Kuang military drills of the Taiwan region are set to kick off on Wednesday, with certain media of the island hyping up highlights that they claimed as "the first time." Yet a mainland military affairs expert said the unrealistic gambits of Taiwan's regional authorities are pursued unscrupulously with blatant disregard for local residents' livelihoods, and such tactics are entirely futile.
The drills, running for 10 days and nine nights, are divided into phases including combat readiness deployment, force protection and preservation, joint anti-landing operations, in-depth defense, and protracted warfare, according to the region's media CNA on Sunday.
As one of the hyped highlights, Taiwan's media outlet United Daily News reported on Saturday that the live-fire drills will, for the first time, conduct an obstacle emplacement exercise at the critical node of the Danjiang Bridge.
The report also noted that with the first batch of M1A2T tanks commissioned last October, this year's drills mark the first time for the tanks to be officially incorporated into the defense combat plan. They will be used to validate in-depth defense and anti-landing operations.
Also, in the Urban Resilience Exercises, a simulation of a major slowdown in mobile internet speeds has been included for the first time, according to CNA. During the air raid drills on August 10 and on August 13 in some regions, mobile networks in the exercise areas will be slowed down for 30 minutes.
When asked to comment on some voices in public opinion saying authorities are hyping up the "mainland threat" and stoking anti-mainland sentiment under the guise of the military drills, Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said on July 30 that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, driven by partisan self-interest, squander financial and civilian resources on reckless military posturing.
By incessantly stoking war anxiety and provoking cross-Straits confrontation and hostility, they attempt to drag Taiwan's general public onto the chariot of "Taiwan independence." Their doomed fate is nothing but the total failure and collapse of the separatist "Taiwan independence" agenda, Jiang said.
In terms of practicality, Song Zhongping, a mainland military affairs expert told the Global Times on Sunday that it is not feasible to halt the PLA's military operations relying merely on a single type of combat force, as individual combat components are incapable of countering a full-fledged operational system.
Described as "unrealistic," Song said the Taiwan regional authorities should not expect that a small number of advanced weapons could serve as an effective deterrent against the PLA's military operations. In addition, the weaponry supplied by the US to the Taiwan region does not represent its most sophisticated military equipment. Such hardware will face immense suppression within a systematic combat framework and struggle to deliver effective countermeasures.
A scene from the promotional documentary "Zhisheng" (Victory), released in celebration of China's Army Day in 2026, unveiled new footage including the launch of tactical missiles from the Type 191 long-range rocket artillery, the firing of decoy flares from the Type 076 amphibious assault ship and live-fire strikes by the KVD002 reconnaissance-strike integrated unmanned aerial vehicle.
The DPP authorities attempt to obstruct national reunification and pursue the scheme of resisting reunification by force of arms. They act unscrupulously with total disregard for the livelihood of people on the island. Fundamentally, such practices are utterly futile and amount to nothing more than mere performances, Song added.
Regarding the military drills and the potential countermeasures from the Chinese mainland, Jiang stated on July 30 that no matter how the DPP authorities conduct such drills, they are doomed to fail in their pursuit of "Taiwan independence".