Taiwan’s Presidential Office held its first “tabletop” exercise involving government agencies beyond the armed forces on Thursday, simulating a military escalation with China amid renewed threats from Beijing, officials said.
Dozens of central and local government agencies as well as civil groups participated in the three-hour exercise, the sources said, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
China has in recent years stepped up military threats, including the large massing of naval forces this month and daily military activities close to democratically governed Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own over Taipei’s rejection.
The war game held inside the Presidential Office in Taipei was led by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and National Security Council Secretary-general Joseph Wu, the officials familiar with the meeting.
It was part of the Taiwan government’s ongoing effort to build up its capacity to cope with emergencies from disaster to military conflict for government offices and civil society.
The exercise simulated scenarios including China’s “high intensity” grey-zone warfare as well as when the island is “on the verge of conflict” to test response readiness by Taiwan government offices and civil society, a security official familiar with the matter said.
