Overview

• Taipei has mobilized 22,000 reservists and involved civilian structures in a ten-day Han Kuang exercise, the biggest defense drill since 1984
• Drills simulate Chinese blockade and invasion scenarios while testing U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket systems, M1A2 Abrams tanks and indigenous drone units
• Beijing has curtailed exports of dual-use goods to eight Taiwanese firms and labeled the exercises a bluff
• Japan has bolstered its southwest defenses by deploying V-22 Osprey transport aircraft and troops to Camp Saga in Kyushu
• Taipei cites uncertainty over President Trump’s stance on defending the island as a key driver of its self-reliant military buildup