Taiwan drills to test relocating arms production under Chinese attack
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A Taiwanese soldier standing guard during a helicopter landing-and-attack first-person-view drone demonstration inside a military campus in Taipei on July 24.
PHOTO: EPA
- Taiwan will conduct annual Han Kuang drills in August to test relocating arms production and converting civilian factories for military use under a simulated Chinese attack.
- The exercise will simulate China using routine drills to mask invasion plans, testing Taiwan's rapid response and ability to maintain military supply lines.
- For the first time, Taiwan will slow mobile internet speeds during the drill to test communication resilience in emergencies, amid rising Chinese coast guard activity near the island.
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TAIPEI – Taiwan will test relocating weapons production lines and converting civilian factories for military use in annual drills in August, the Defence Ministry said on July 28, aiming to sustain combat operations if Chinese attacks hit supply hubs.
The exercise, part of the annual Han Kuang war games from Aug 5 to 14, will simulate China using routine military drills to conceal preparations for a full invasion of Taiwan, prompting the island’s armed forces to immediately raise combat readiness and conduct rapid-response drills.
The drills will test whether Taiwan can disperse industrial production while maintaining output needed to support its armed forces in a conflict, according to the ministry’s planning outline.
The focus reflects one of Taiwan’s central wartime concerns: that China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own, will seek to paralyse command centres, ports, logistics sites and defence industry facilities early in any attack.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying it is already an independent country.
The drills assume “Chinese forces use routine annual joint military exercises as cover for large-scale landing training, concealing plans to attack Taiwan while completing final assault preparations”, Major-General Lu Wen-yuan, head of the Joint Operations Division, told a press briefing.
Lu said the drills will simulate the wartime relocation of the Armaments Bureau’s 202nd Arsenal in Taipei and mobilise civilian factories responsible for “whole-system assembly” after an emergency order is issued.
The drills will also test Taiwan’s ability to keep sea lanes open and protect shipments of critical supplies, Lu said, adding that the navy and coast guard will conduct joint drills using live troops, equipment and ammunition for coast guard vessel refits, coastal strikes, maritime law enforcement and escorts for critical supplies.
The drills come as Taiwan reports a sharp rise in Chinese coast guard activity around the island, heightening concern in Taipei that Beijing could escalate pressure off Taiwan’s Pacific coast and threaten vital supply routes.
The United States’ de facto embassy in Taiwan made a rare public disclosure on July 28 of coordination between the US and Taiwan coast guards, highlighting maritime security cooperation.
“The United States appreciates Taiwan’s partnership in maritime security and safety, and supports Taiwan’s meaningful contributions on global issues including maritime law enforcement exchange and international cooperation,” the American Institute in Taiwan said in a Facebook post.
An image accompanying the post showed a Taiwan coast guard vessel sailing in formation with the US Coast Guard cutter Midgett at an unspecified location.
For the first time, Taiwan will also deliberately slow mobile internet speeds during the 10-day exercise, testing how citizens would communicate if bandwidth became scarce in emergencies ranging from disasters to a Chinese invasion. REUTERS
