At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Cho Jung-tai received a Ministry of National Defense (MND) briefing on Taiwan's 2026 Urban Resilience Exercises and the 42nd annual Han Kuang military exercises. The premier said the live-fire component of the Han Kuang exercises began on August 5 and will run continuously for 10 days and nine nights. It will emphasize commanders' adaptive decision-making, units' response to evolving operational conditions, and joint maneuvers across military branches. It will also incorporate new weapons and equipment, unmanned systems, and a range of operational concepts into the exercises to hone troops' ability to respond effectively in realistic combat environments.
Premier Cho noted that this year's Han Kuang exercises will be integrated with the All-Out Defense Mobilization component of the Urban Resilience Exercises, with the two to be held jointly in Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County on August 7, and in New Taipei City and Yilan County on August 13. The Air Defense component of the Urban Resilience Exercises will begin in Taiwan's southern region on August 7 and proceed sequentially through the central, outlying island, eastern and northern regions from August 10 to 13, and will also include a 30-minute mobile network slowdown drill in the central and northern regions on August 10 and 13, respectively.
The premier said that the preparation and implementation of these exercises not only verify local governments' mobilization and response capabilities, but also enhance coordination and collaboration among the central government, local authorities and the armed forces. The exercises will help identify issues, refine response mechanisms and incorporate the lessons learned into routine preparedness and crisis management efforts, thereby improving the government's overall response effectiveness.
Premier Cho called on the MND to uphold the principle of training as one would fight and maintaining readiness to deter conflict. He directed the ministry to advance defense preparedness while enhancing key capabilities including joint operations, military-civilian integration, force preservation, logistics support and force regeneration. Each exercise will further sharpen the armed forces' overall combat effectiveness, ensuring that they maintain a consistently high level of operational readiness.