Caught between two superpowers, Taiwan is the world’s most dangerous flashpoint.
The island democracy with 23.2 million inhabitants knows its precarious position. Over the past four decades, the global semiconductor hub has held annual military exercises aimed at averting a cross-strait invasion by Beijing, which considers the island part of its territory and has refused to rule out a seizure by military force.
The Han Kuang exercises, originally intended to demonstrate Taiwan’s courage to the Chinese mainland and the world, are quickly taking a new form. Taipei now prefers to use the exercises as a realistic stress test for its outnumbered armed forces and civilian institutions.
Force-on-force combat and daring beach landings that characterized earlier Han Kuangs have given way to an emphasis on smaller skirmishes, logistical missions and ambushes.
The change comes as a proverbial, albeit hypothetical, deadline looms for Taiwan: China’s Xi Jinping has ordered his country’s troops to be ready for military action by 2027. Although analysts around the world do not see how Beijing could engineer an invasion by then, the threat remains.
Business Insider attended more than a dozen exercises during the 42nd edition of the Han Kuang, which lasted 10 days and nine nights in August.
The exercises show how the island has prepared for what are the most likely scenarios, from decapitation attacks to sabotage to urban warfare, with an arsenal of American, European and domestic weapons.
Meanwhile, the US is – widely considered Taiwan’s main hope of defeating a full-scale Chinese attack – has been watching closely and quietly sending advisors to observe.
Check out our coverage of Han Kuang 2026, Taiwan’s rehearsal of what could be the most consequential battle of modern times.
