Taipei: The live-fire portion of this year’s Han Kuang military exercises will be twice as long as previous drills and will place an added focus on China’s “gray zone” tactics-coercive actions that fall short of open conflict, a defense official revealed on Tuesday.

According to Focus Taiwan, Major General Tung Chi-hsing, director of the Ministry of National Defense’s joint operations planning division, announced that the Han Kuang exercises, scheduled from July 9 to 18, will last 10 days and nine nights, doubling the duration of previous drills. Historically, the Han Kuang drills were accelerated, reducing the time required for participants to engage in simulated battles. This year, however, the exercises will allow for comprehensive battle scenarios to unfold.

Tung highlighted that the drills are informed by lessons from last year’s exercises and will emphasize decentralized operations, comprehensive logistical support, rules of engagement, and enhanced rapid decision-making. Additional focuses include improving the synchronization of joint operations, boosting civilian-military coordination, and clarifying military action authorization mechanisms.

The exercises begin with gray zone harassment from the Chinese military, evolving through phases such as the peace-to-war shift, force deployment, joint anti-landing operations, coastal and beachhead combat, in-depth defense, and protracted warfare. These phases simulate a full spectrum of defensive combat and civil-military integration.

In addressing simulated gray zone actions by China, Tung disclosed several identified scenarios, including deception, attrition, and provocation. These actions typically occur before a formal outbreak of war and represent potential forms of interference by China against Taiwan. The armed forces will develop counterstrategies and initiate “immediate readiness” training for active-duty units to prepare for such threats.

For the first three days, the exercises will focus on gray zone responses, with participating troops entering the force deployment phase on July 12 during “contingency operations.” The “full-scale combat” phase, scheduled for July 13-18, will include joint anti-landing operations, coastal and beachhead combat, in-depth defense, and protracted warfare.

In response to questions about potential cancellations due to typhoons, Tung explained that if two counties or cities within a combat zone are affected by typhoons or earthquakes, drills in that zone will be suspended to prioritize disaster relief. If two or more combat zones across Taiwan and its outlying islands are affected, the Han Kuang exercises will be canceled entirely, with drills rescheduled or incorporated into subsequent immediate readiness training or combat preparedness exercises.