Taiwan's military will begin its most demanding annual live-troop exercise on August 5, running a 10-day, nine-night drill structured around nine distinct combat verification scenarios and centered on what defense planners call a "Multi-Domain Area Denial, Resilient Defense" operational concept.
The Ministry of National Defense announced the plan at a press conference on July 28. Brigadier General Lu Wen-yuan (呂文元) , director of the ministry's Joint Operations Division, described an exercise format that builds on year-round integrated training — including earlier computer-aided command post exercises, immediate combat readiness drills, and joint defense phases — with the August 5-14 live-troop component serving as the culminating test.
Four Phases Simulate a Full-Spectrum Chinese Attack
The exercise unfolds across four escalating phases designed to walk Taiwan's forces through the entire arc of a potential conflict. In the opening phase, Taiwan's three services respond to a scenario in which China exploits its routine annual joint military exercise as cover to complete large-scale amphibious assault preparations. The response involves mobilization readiness, obstacle pre-positioning, supply dispersal, cross-district troop movement, and defensive mine-laying.
As the scenario advances, phase two has Taiwan's forces executing joint counter-blockade operations and protecting critical infrastructure while China simulates completing naval and air loading and transit under joint blockade cover. Phase three — the simulated anti-landing — tests coastal defense, local air superiority, coordinated air-sea strikes against a landing fleet, and fire concentration at key areas along the shoreline. In the fourth and final phase, the scenario has Chinese forces breaking through the beachhead and advancing inland; Taiwan's military responds with terrain-based layered defense supported by whole-of-society mobilization to sustain operational endurance.
Nine Drills Reach From Factory Floors to Emergency Rooms
Among the nine specific verification items, two stand out for their civilian-military integration. A wartime production conversion scenario will drill factory evacuation and production line conversion at the Armaments Bureau's 202nd Manufacturing Center and its civilian partner plants, testing whether Taiwan can sustain defense production under combat conditions. A separate battlefield medical scenario will integrate military forward surgical teams with civilian and public hospitals, supported by a field smart medical information system that tracks casualty status and coordinates evacuations in real time.
Other items include anti-blockade convoy operations, where Navy and Coast Guard assets will work jointly to secure sea lanes and protect critical cargo; counter-exploitation drills at major ports, airports, and transport corridors to deny enemy use of key infrastructure; cross-district troop redeployment under simulated enemy harassment; and mobile logistics rehearsals emphasizing dispersed storage, concealment, and deception to support layered defensive operations.
The ninth item — whole-of-society defense resilience — will be exercised through a series of urban resilience drills in four counties and cities. On August 7, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County will conduct joint civilian-military exercises; New Taipei City and Yilan County will follow on August 13. Both events will assess the effectiveness of local joint emergency operations centers — the coordination hubs linking civilian and military command during crises — in managing intelligence flow, communications, and incident response.
Lu closed the briefing by framing the exercise as a direct measure of where Taiwan's military stands. The armed forces, he said, would continue to use mission-oriented, combat-realistic training to test their joint warfighting capability, strengthen deterrence, and contribute to regional stability.
