Taiwan Concludes 10-Day Han Kuang 42 Exercise, Its Largest War Games Since 1984

Taiwan concluded its 10-day Han Kuang 42 live-fire exercise on August 14, 2026, at a closing ceremony at Bo'ai Camp in Taipei attended by Chief of the General Staff Mei Chia-shu, service chiefs and regional commanders. Defense Minister Wellington Koo praised the troops and urged officers to address issues identified during the drills to further strengthen combat readiness. Running since August 5, the exercise — described as Taiwan's largest-scale war games since 1984 — for the first time employed a fully 'unscripted,' free-play format with fully operational command centers at every level, forcing units to respond to dynamic orders based on developing simulated threats rather than a pre-set script, while maintaining strict safety discipline during high-intensity maneuvers. The cycle included the first operational participation of M1A2T Abrams tanks, activation of roughly 5,000 reservists, President Lai's August 9 troop inspection in Taoyuan, and the closing mobile-internet-slowdown and Navy-Coast Guard anti-blockade drills.