Taiwan holds war games amid tensions and typhoon: What you need to know

Taiwan is currently in the midst of the 40th edition of its annual Han Kuang war games, intended to assess its readiness to withstand a full-scale invasion from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

But amid rising cross-strait tensions, Taiwanese defence officials have said this year’s five-day military drill, which began on Monday and will finish on Friday, will be the largest-ever held and a major departure from previous iterations.

Beijing, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province of China, has responded to the January election victory of pro-independence President William Lai Ching-te by escalating provocative military exercises around the island.

Facing rising pressure, Taiwan has said this year’s games will aim to be as close as possible to real-life combat, abandoning what critics have labelled as some of the drill’s more theatrical elements.

With Typhoon Gaemi also currently battering the island, curtailing portions of the war games, Han Kuang’s 40th edition is set to be unlike any other.

Here’s everything you need to know:

The Han Kuang exercise has been held every year since 1984 and has historically consisted of live-fire drills and computerised war games over the course of five days. It is regarded as a display of resolve against Chinese intimidation and intended to illustrate the ability of Taiwan’s armed forces to repel invading forces.

Taking place in conjunction with Han Kuang this week is the Wanan air raid drill, an annual civilian preparedness test held across different regions of the country since 1978. During the drill, air raid sirens blare out across cities and mock SMS alerts are sent to phones nationwide warning of an imminent rocket attack and instructing citizens to seek shelter.

Taipei’s usually bustling streets were emptied of vehicles and pedestrians during Tuesday’s 30-minute drill, with stewards ushering people into subway stations and bomb shelters.