Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration has equipped its patrol vessels with anti-ship missiles as part of this year’s Han Kuang military exercises, a step officials say is designed to test how quickly civilian maritime assets can be converted into wartime combat platforms in the event of a Chinese attack.
President Lai Ching-te personally observed the installation of missile launchers aboard an Anping-class coast guard vessel on Thursday, before boarding a Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat armed with Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles at Zuoying Naval Base in Kaohsiung on Saturday, according to Focus Taiwan.
The Han Kuang exercises began on 8 August and are set to conclude on 14 August, focusing on Taiwan’s readiness for a potential invasion by China, which considers the island its territory and has vowed to use force to restore control, while Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
How Are Coast Guard Vessels Being Converted For Combat?
The Anping-class patrol vessel, derived from the Navy’s Tuo Chiang-class corvette design, is normally tasked with maritime patrols, emergency response and expelling trespassing fishing boats, but can be equipped with Hsiung Feng II and III anti-ship missiles for anti-surface warfare, according to the Ministry of National Defense, as cited by Focus Taiwan.
During Saturday’s drill, an Anping-class vessel led four Kuang Hua VI-class missile boats to sea after receiving an order from the Navy’s Littoral Operations Command, simulating an engagement with invading Chinese amphibious assault ships.
What Did President Lai Say During The Drills?
Addressing Navy and Coast Guard personnel over the missile boat’s public address system, Lai called on participants to respond proactively to a range of scenarios and to strengthen their combat readiness and coordination. “In the face of external threats and challenges, the government continues to work to strengthen national defense and provide the military and Coast Guard personnel with its fullest support,” Lai said, according to Focus Taiwan.
What Other Elements Featured In This Year’s Exercises?
Beyond the missile boat demonstration, Saturday’s drill also involved a coastal strike component in which four attack drones were launched from a nearby site to simulate an assault on maritime targets, with officials indicating the drones’ performance would be assessed against predetermined parameters and refined based on the results.
Separately, Hsinchu Air Force Base conducted drills involving Mirage 2000 fighter jets on Friday, simulating the full sequence of events from an enemy airstrike through to a counteroffensive response.
Why Does This Year’s Exercise Mark An Expanded Role For Coast Guard?
This year’s drills build on a broader effort in recent cycles to formally integrate Taiwan’s Coast Guard fleet into the island’s wartime defence planning. During last year’s Han Kuang 41 exercise, the Coast Guard’s Anping-class patrol vessel Wanli completed a peacetime-to-wartime conversion, being fitted with Hsiung Feng missile systems built by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology with support from Taiwanese Navy logistics personnel, according to Army Recognition.
Officials said at the time that the objective was to enhance interoperability between Coast Guard assets and the Navy, allowing 600-ton patrol ships to be rapidly reconfigured for combat without requiring Taiwan to overextend its broader naval resources.
How Does China View These Annual Exercises?
Beijing has consistently viewed Taiwan’s president in adversarial terms throughout his tenure, with Chinese officials regarding Lai as a separatist and rejecting his repeated offers to hold talks. The Han Kuang exercises, first held in 1984, remain Taiwan’s largest annual military drills, bringing together all branches of its armed forces to test command coordination, combat responsiveness and homeland defence capabilities against the backdrop of continuing tension across the Taiwan Strait.
With the exercises scheduled to run through 14 August, defence officials say the coming days will include further live-fire verification of the coast guard’s newly installed missile systems, part of a broader push to demonstrate that Taiwan’s civilian maritime fleet could be rapidly absorbed into a coordinated wartime defence posture should an actual conflict with China materialise.
