Why is Taiwan holding a five-day combat drill now? Rising Chinese activity offers clues

Taiwan’s military will conduct a five-day combat readiness drill this week, the defence ministry said on Sunday, in a move that reflects Taipei’s push to make training more realistic and war-focused.

The “Immediate Combat Readiness Exercise” is set to begin on Monday and run through Friday as part of annual joint-operations training, the ministry said, describing it as part of broader modernisation plans.

The exercise is intended to move training away from formal set-piece events and toward scenarios that simulate actual combat conditions.

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Combat lessons with a sharper edge

The ministry said the main goal is to prepare units at every level for combat practices and the battlefield environment during deployment.

It said “The main objective is to train units at all levels to become familiar with combat practices and the battlefield environment during the readiness deployment phase.” The exercise is also designed to improve rapid transitions from peacetime to wartime footing and sharpen priority deployments, with the ministry stressing that the drill will use actual troops, actual terrain, actual equipment and real-time implementation.

Uneasy skies over the strait

Taiwan has increasingly framed some of its drills around the possibility that China could turn one of its regular exercises around the island into an actual attack.

That approach reflects the island’s security environment, in which China continues to claim Taiwan as its own territory despite objections from the government in Taipei.

On the same day the drill was announced, the ministry said China had sent 21 military aircraft into the skies near Taiwan, including J-16 fighters, KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft, and Y-20 aerial refuelling aircraft. Nineteen of those aircraft entered the airspace southwest of Taiwan and moved into the Western Pacific for what Beijing called “long-distance training over open seas", reported Taiwan’s defence ministry.

Preparations proceed without fanfare

Taiwan said it sent its own forces to respond appropriately to the aircraft activity, using its standard wording for such incidents.

The ministry also noted that Taiwan routinely holds military drills, including earlier this month when it fired its new US-made HIMARS rocket system into the Taiwan Strait. The island’s main annual Han Kuang war games are expected in August, underscoring a period of sustained military preparedness training as Taipei continues to monitor Chinese pressure around its airspace and waters.

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FAQs

Q1: Why is Taiwan conducting a five-day combat readiness exercise?

Ans: Taiwan says the drill is aimed at improving military preparedness, rapid deployment capabilities, and readiness for potential combat scenarios.

Q2: Why are tensions between Taiwan and China significant?

Ans: China claims Taiwan as its territory and regularly conducts military activities near the island, while Taiwan maintains it is self-governed and monitors Chinese military movements closely.