Taiwan to Double Length of Annual Military Drill, Focus on CCP Invasion

Taiwanese officials expect the Chinese regime to use a range of so-called gray zone tactics before a full-scale invasion.

Two 8-inch self-propelled artillery guns are fired during the 35th "Han Kuang" military drill in southern Pingtung county, Taiwan, on May 30, 2019. Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images

Taiwan’s 2025 Han Kuang military drill will be twice as long as in previous years and, for the first time, will simulate responses to the Chinese regime’s so-called gray zone tactics that Taipei officials say could precede a full-scale invasion.

Speaking at a press briefing on July 1, Maj. Gen. Tung Chi-hsing, director of Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense’s Joint Operations Planning Division, said this year’s live-fire exercise will run from July 9 to July 18, a significant expansion from the typical five-day, four-night format.

Tung said the drills will begin with a simulated “gray zone harassment” scenario, which, in a real conflict, would trigger Taiwan’s peace-to-war transition protocols. This includes activating emergency combat readiness and shifting operational posture according to wartime procedures.

In the context of China–Taiwan tensions, “gray zone” refers to actions that fall below the threshold of outright war but are meant to achieve strategic goals through pressure and provocation. The U.S. Department of Defense describes such activity as occurring in a space that is “neither fully war nor fully peace.”

Although Beijing has not officially adopted the “gray zone” terminology into its military doctrine, it has employed related concepts through its “Three Warfares” strategy—legal, psychological, and public opinion warfare—since early 2003.

One real-world example is that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) regularly flies military aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, forcing Taipei to scramble fighter jets in response. Some analysts say that this strategy aims to, at least in part, deplete the island’s resources and desensitize the Taiwanese public to Chinese military activities, which could, in turn, undermine public support for defense spending.

Tung described gray zone tactics for the upcoming drill as encompassing legal warfare, deception, provocations, and attempts to exhaust Taiwan’s military resources.

“Each of these actions is something the Chinese Communist Party might carry out against Taiwan before entering wartime,” he told reporters.

After the gray zone simulation, the drill will move into a mock invasion phase, including a simulated PLA amphibious assault across the Taiwan Strait. Beginning on July 13, Taiwanese forces will practice securing partial air superiority, intercepting missile strikes, executing precision counterattacks, and repelling enemy landings at key coastal points, Tung said.

The latter part of the exercise will simulate a “deep defense” phase in which the PLA pushes inland, according to Tung. This would involve Taiwanese troops establishing layered defense zones using natural terrain and urban structures to deny the invaders access to critical infrastructure such as ports, airports, and landing reinforcements.

In addition to combat operations, the drill will include civilian defense measures such as air raid evacuation and rescue and shelter operations—efforts intended to boost what Tung described as the “defense resilience of the whole society.”

Tung’s remarks come as Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has embarked on a nationwide speaking tour aimed at rallying public unity in the face of increasing aggression from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Although the CCP has never ruled Taiwan, it proclaims that Taiwan is China’s renegade province and has vowed to unite the democratic island with the authoritarian mainland.

Lai is giving a series of 10 speeches, which began on June 22 and will continue in the coming weeks. In the first three, he urged unity between two key demographics: the younger generation, which increasingly identifies solely as Taiwanese and rejects any connection with China; and the older generation, many of whom fled China during the Chinese Civil War and tend to identify with the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name.

Over the years, the CCP has sought to exploit lingering Chinese identity among older Taiwanese to advocate for unification under communist rule. But Lai, whose Democratic Progressive Party draws most of its support from voters who strongly identify as Taiwanese, has pushed back against such tactics and warned citizens not to fall for Beijing’s agenda.

“Those who identify with Taiwan must defend Taiwan, and those who identify with the Republic of China must resist the CCP,” Lai said in his second speech.