Quemoy to take bigger role in Taiwan’s Han Kuang war games this year, source says

Han Kuang, Taiwan’s biggest annual military exercises, will take place from July 22 to 26. The source said Quemoy would play a bigger role in the live-fire drills this year.

“The defence of Quemoy has always been included in the Han Kuang exercises in previous years, but the PLA’s recent Joint Sword-2024A has prompted the military to intensify the drills there next month,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Beijing – which views Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunited by force if necessary – has called Lai an “obstinate separatist” and said his leadership could bring war to the island.

Most countries, including the United States – the island’s biggest arms supplier – do not recognise Taiwan as independent, but are opposed to any unilateral change of the cross-strait status quo by force.

According to the Taiwanese military source, Admiral Mei Chia-shu, chief of the general staff, visited Quemoy last week and provided guidance on drill preparations. His two-day visit included trips to several of the remote islets in the Quemoy archipelago so that he could better understand the strategic situation and mission of the garrison stationed there.

Chieh Chung, a professor of international relations and strategic studies at Tamkang University in New Taipei City, said the garrison on Quemoy had a key role given its proximity to mainland China – but that also made it vulnerable to the PLA’s firepower.

“In the event of military action by the mainland, Quemoy could play a role in delaying the deployment of military logistics near Xiamen,” he said.

The threat of drones being flown to Quemoy from mainland China will also be a focus of Han Kuang this year. “Countermeasures against these intrusions have already been established, and the Quemoy defence command is expected to integrate them into the drills,” the source said.

In the latest drone incident, a live-stream on a Chinese TikTok channel over the weekend showed a civilian drone from mainland China purportedly flying over Quemoy, where it dropped anti-separatist leaflets near the Mashan military sentry post.

The Quemoy government said law enforcement attempted to intercept the drone using jamming devices but it was unsuccessful.

“We have urged mainland authorities to prevent their citizens from engaging in such irregular activities, as these actions not only risk causing harm to individuals on the ground but also pose a serious threat to aviation safety,” the government statement said.

Quemoy’s defence command said the drone had not flown close to the sentry post and no leaflets were found in the area.

Its statement said enemy threats were closely monitored and that the defence command would refrain from impulsive responses to online provocations from mainland Chinese to prevent tensions from escalating.

It said key weapons, equipment and facilities were concealed, and that when such a situation arose it would take appropriate countermeasures based on the threat level and in line with the regulations.