Taiwan’s annual war games to simulate 2027 China attack

A nation nursing tense relations with China has announced its next move to prepare for a potential 2027 invasion.

Taiwanese troops will simulate possible scenarios for a Chinese invasion in 2027 during the island’s annual war games, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, as Beijing maintains military pressure on Taipei.

Taiwan has never been ruled by Communist China. But Beijing insists the self-ruled island of 23 million is part of its territory and has threatened to seize the island by force.

Officials in the United States -- Taipei’s main backer and biggest arms supplier -- have previously cited 2027 as a possible timeline for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Taiwan’s “Han Kuang” exercises, which the ministry said would be held from July 9-18, are conducted every year across Taiwan to simulate defending the island against Chinese attacks.

In a report submitted to parliament on Wednesday, the ministry said this year’s scenarios would be based on China’s “grey-zone” intrusions and “possible actions of the Chinese Communist military’s invasion of Taiwan in 2027”.

“Commanders at all operational and tactical levels will plan scenarios and situations from a practical perspective based on the possible actions of the enemy,” the report said.

Taiwan’s ‘Han Kuang’ exercises, which the ministry said would be held from July 9-18, are conducted every year across Taiwan to simulate defending the island against Chinese attacks. (Photo by WANG Teng-yi / CNA / AFP)

The aim was to “verify the ability of troops at all levels to execute plans, thereby building a military force that can respond quickly and maintain ‘high combat readiness,’” the report said.

Beijing regularly deploys fighter jets, warships and coast guard vessels near Taiwan, and has held several major military drills around the island in the past year.

Analysts have dubbed these actions ‘grey zone’ tactics that fall short of an act of war and serve to exhaust the island’s armed forces. (Photo by Handout / TAIWAN DEFENCE MINISTRY / AFP)

Analysts have dubbed these actions “grey zone” tactics that fall short of an act of war and serve to exhaust the island’s armed forces.

Defence minister Wellington Koo warned on Wednesday that the time it would take for China to switch from an exercise to combat was “not necessarily as long as we used to think”.

“We have some key early warning signs that we need to monitor,” Mr Koo told reporters, without elaborating.

More than 50 Chinese aircraft took part in “joint combat” patrols around Taiwan on Monday, the defence ministry said previously, days after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called China a “foreign hostile force”.

Beijing’s foreign ministry said the actions were in response to US support for Taiwan and a warning to the “Taiwan independence separatist forces”.

China claims ‘territorial integrity’

In December, China vowed to “firmly defend” its sovereignty and insisted Taiwan was an “inalienable” part of its territory after the island said it had detected Chinese warships and coast guard vessels in its waters.

“China will firmly defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said as the island’s military launched combat readiness drills.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called China a ‘foreign hostile force’. (Photo by Handout / TAIWAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE / AFP)

In December, China vowed to ‘firmly defend’ its sovereignty and insisted Taiwan was an ‘inalienable’ part of its territory after the island said it had detected Chinese warships and coast guard vessels in its waters. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Taiwan said its military was on high alert as Chinese warships sailed near the island on Monday, preparing for a strong response from China to President Lai Ching-te’s stopovers in the United States.

China has launched two large-scale military drills around Taiwan since Mr Lai took office and regularly deploys fighter jets and navy ships to press its claims over the island.

Mr Lai has been more outspoken than his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen in defending Taiwan’s sovereignty, angering Beijing which calls him a “separatist”.