In a first, Taiwan’s Presidential Office runs mass simulation of an emergency in China

By Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s presidential office on Thursday held its first “massive” exercise involving government agencies beyond the armed forces, simulating a military escalation with China amid renewed threats from Beijing, officials said.

Dozens of central and local government agencies as well as civilian groups participated in the three-hour exercise, said the sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

China has stepped up military threats in recent years, including a large naval mass this month and daily military activities close to democratically-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own because of its rejection of Taipei.

The war game held in the Presidential Office in Taipei was led by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and National Security Council Secretary General Joseph Wu, officials familiar with the meeting told Reuters.

It was part of the Taiwanese government’s ongoing effort to strengthen its ability to deal with emergencies from disasters to military conflicts for government offices and civil society.

The exercise simulated scenarios including “high-intensity” war in China’s gray zone, as well as when the island is “on the brink of conflict”, to test the response readiness of Taiwan’s government offices and civil society, said a security official familiar with the matter.

In a press conference at the Presidential Office late Thursday, Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang said the government plans to train more than 50,000 volunteers across the island by next year capable of responding to emergencies, including the ability to first help.

Liu said the government hopes to involve public sectors such as taxi drivers and security guards to ease the burden on government agencies during an emergency.

Several government agencies have also been asked to build backup systems and make plans for quick recovery after a shutdown, she said.

President Lai Ching-te said Taiwan was “racing against time” to strengthen its disaster response capability and increase its deterrence against an invading enemy.

“Peace and stability in the first island chain are collectively challenged by authoritarian states,” Lai said in a statement from his office, although he did not name any specific countries.

The First Island Chain is a collection of archipelagos stretching roughly from Indonesia in a northeasterly arc to Japan, spanning the South China Sea and the East China Sea.

China’s Taiwan Business Office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

China has held two rounds of major exercises around Taiwan this year to put pressure on Taipei, one in May and one in October, called “Joint Sword – 2024A” and B, respectively.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)