Taiwan Holds Most Expansive Annual Drills Ever to Counter China

Taiwanese reservists participate in pre-combat training on the first day of the annual Han Kuang military exercise in Miaoli on July 9.Photographer: by I-Hwa Cheng/AFP/Getty Images

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By Yian Lee

July 8, 2025 at 10:00 PM UTC

Updated on

July 9, 2025 at 12:35 PM UTC

Taiwan kicked off its most expansive annual military drills ever — underscoring President Lai Ching-te’s drive to protect the self-run democracy from China’s assertiveness.

The Han Kuang exercises that started Wednesday will last 10 days, double the usual number for the drills that date to 1984, and more than 20,000 reservists are being called up — the most ever.