TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The President’s Office of Taiwan hosted its first-ever tabletop simulation on Thursday morning in order to prepare for a potential military conflict with China.
The focus of the three-hour exercise was primarily on civilian mobilization and safeguarding critical infrastructure, according to a press release. The simulation was organized by the Whole-of-Society Resilience Committee, a consortium of bureaus and agencies that was formed earlier this year.
Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and National Security Chief Secretary-Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) were in charge of leading the simulation. President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) was present to monitor the performance of the agencies involved, and chaired the second meeting of the Whole-of-Society Resilience Committee in the afternoon to review the morning’s exercises, reported CNA.
In his remarks, Lai said the tabletop exercises are important to maintain readiness given the instability of the geopolitical landscape. The exercises provide a roadmap for cross-agency cooperation between the national government and government at the county and municipal level.
The exercises tested 11 situations to gauge emergency response capabilities of agencies in high-intensity environments. By judging how each agency responds to different scenarios, the government can better anticipate where there may be shortages in manpower, critical resources, or a lack of established protocol.
Thursday’s simulation also provided agencies and officials with an opportunity to prepare for live field exercises scheduled for March. The upcoming drills, dubbed the “2025 Urban Resilience Exercises,” will test the response capability of civilian government agencies and will be held alongside the annual Wan-An military exercises for a whole-of-society approach to a potentially complex crisis.