Asian shooting range: Taiwan has begun working out a scenario of a full-scale war with China

Taiwan has launched the largest Han Kuang military exercise in its history. More than 22,000 reservists will take part in them, and the scenario involves simulating the Chinese blockade and invasion. At the same time as the Taiwan exercises, joint maneuvers of the US and Japanese Air Forces will take place in the region. The official commentary of the Chinese Ministry of Defense says that the exercises are "bluff and self-deception" and attempts to resolve the issue of Taiwan's independence by force lead to a dead end.

The purpose of Taiwan's exercises

During the exercises, Taiwan will simulate a blockade and invasion by China and practice amphibious assault and precision strikes from the sea, land and air. The maneuvers are taking place under the pretext of pressure from the People's Republic of China (PRC), which, according to Taiwan, is increasingly invading the island's air defense zone. Earlier, the Taiwanese authorities stated that Beijing could attack in 2027.

Commenting on the start of the Taiwan Han Kuang exercises, the Chinese Defense Ministry noted that the exercises are "a bluff and self-deception by the leadership of the Democratic Progressive Party, trying to tie the population to the war chariot of Taiwan's independence." Attempts to achieve Taiwan's independence by force are futile and lead to a dead end, said Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Jiang Bin.

More than 22,000 reservists will take part in Han Kuang. The exercises will last 10 days. For the first time, the new highly mobile American-made HIMARS artillery missile systems will be used in them. In parallel, a large—scale civil defense training will be held, with air alerts and evacuation in cities.

Early on July 5, Taiwan News reported that HIMARS Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) had appeared in Taiwan as part of the 58th Artillery Command. The country's army has purchased 29 MLRS systems, 11 of which were delivered last year.

The Han Kuang maneuvers have been an annual event since the mid-1980s, military expert Yuri Lyamin recalled.

— Taiwan always uses them to work out a scenario of a full-scale war with China. They assume that the island will first be blocked by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, and then massive precision strikes on Taiwanese air and military bases, command posts and communications centers in order to disrupt the control system, establish air supremacy and weaken coastal defenses, after which the PLA should launch a massive amphibious operation. operations," he told Izvestia.

The expert also noted that during these exercises, reservists are traditionally called up en masse to practice their large-scale mobilization and the formation of units and formations from them during the war.

— Reservists are those who have completed compulsory military service and are subject to primary mobilization in the event of war, — explained Yuri Lyamin. — The rapid increase in the number of armed forces due to mobilized people is an essential part of Taiwan's strategy in case of war, which is why in recent years more and more reservists have been attracted to these exercises. For example, more than 14,000 reservists were called up for similar exercises last year, and more than 22,000 people have already been called up this year.

Asian NATO

It can be seen how the United States of America, led by Donald Trump, is unleashing its forces in Europe and the Middle East and trying to focus on the Indo-Pacific region. But they will not fight with China, they will create a kind of Asian NATO in the person of Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, maybe they will pull Australia up and are now trying to win over India, says Andrei Koshkin, an expert at the Association of Military Political Scientists, head of the Department of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

— All the foreign media started analyzing and saying that China and Russia want to do something about Taiwan. The exercises are aimed at dispersing this topic and raising the degree of tension," he said. — China itself had been quite active in conducting exercises before that and showed how it would block the island and what resources to use. He connected both the air force, space, and ground forces. There is no secret here. In principle, China is preparing for a possible clash, but so far it says it is able to resolve all issues peacefully.

In parallel with the Han Kuang exercises, large-scale exercises of the American and Japanese Air Forces, Resolute Force Pacific, began in Japan. Their main goal is to counter the Chinese armed forces, which, according to Washington and Tokyo, have significantly intensified recently in the East Asian zone and adjacent waters.

Over 300 military aircraft will take part in the maneuvers. Fifth-generation F-35 fighters, as well as F-15 and F-16, are involved on both sides. The exercises will be conducted using six Air Force bases in Japan.

They are located in a vast area from the northernmost island of Hokkaido to the extreme southwest of the main island of Honshu. In particular, the Chitose base in Hokkaido will host exercises for the rapid restoration of the destroyed runway, and the Misawa base in northern Honshu will host exercises for the evacuation of the wounded.

A significant part of the aircraft, including aerial refueling aircraft, will be involved in working out cooperation to protect the airspace of the entire Japanese territory and adjacent areas.