Taiwan, U.S. and Japan step up drills
Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang exercises are adopting U.S.‑style rehearsal methods to make drills more operational rather than ceremonial. (focustaiwan.tw) A senior U.S. general said China has “no say” in American arms sales to Taiwan and suggested more creative ways to include Taiwan in regional training, including inviting partners to train on the island. (taiwannews.com.tw) At the same time, Japan has deployed combat‑ready troops to the Philippines for drills — a first since World War II — signalling a wider geographic shift in deterrence posture. (scmp.com)
Taiwan's Han Kuang war games are adopting U.S.-style rehearsal methods, as the United States and Japan expand regional training ties. (focustaiwan.tw) (scmp.com) The 42nd Han Kuang began with tabletop war games on April 11 and, the Ministry of National Defense says, will run through April 24. (focustaiwan.tw) Organizers said the 2026 drills will test four U.S.-style rehearsal methods: Combined Arms Rehearsal, confirmation briefs or "backbriefs," support rehearsals, and battle drill or standard operating procedure rehearsals. (focustaiwan.tw) Former U.S. Army Pacific commander Charles Flynn told Taipei media on April 11 that Beijing has "no authority" over American arms sales to Taiwan. (taiwannews.com.tw) Flynn, speaking before a security forum in Taipei, also urged "creative approaches" to include Taiwan in regional training, specifically suggesting partners be invited to conduct exercises on the island. (taiwannews.com.tw) Japan will deploy combat-capable units to the Philippines' Balikatan exercises beginning April 20, marking the first time Japanese combat troops have trained on Philippine soil since World War II, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said. (thediplomat.com) (abs-cbn.com) Tokyo told The Diplomat that units from Japan's Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces will participate, and officials pointed to the 2025 Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement as the legal basis for weapons-bearing deployments. (thediplomat.com) Taiwanese officials and analysts say Han Kuang will also incorporate military intelligence into tabletop war games and keep a longer, 10-day live-fire segment to shift drills from ceremonial displays to operational readiness. (focustaiwan.tw) (taipeitimes.com) Beijing has consistently protested U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, saying such transfers violate the one-China principle and vowing "resolute countermeasures" in official Foreign Ministry remarks after past U.S. approvals. (mfa.gov.cn) "Evil cannot be appeased. Evil has to be defeated," Charles Flynn warned in Taipei as he described Beijing's military modernization and the risk that a Taiwan Strait conflict could widen into a global war. (taiwannews.com.tw)
