TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan this week tested its ability to respond to overlapping wartime and disaster scenarios in Nantou.
The two-day resilience drill combined a simulated Chinese military assault with a major earthquake, infrastructure disruptions, cyberattacks, and public disorder. Central and local government officials, military personnel, and emergency responders practiced coordinating response efforts across agencies, according to the Nantou County Government.
The exercise was conducted with a scenario-based, no-script approach to test response capacity. It began with a seven-hour tabletop session, during which officials discussed responses to a series of emergency scenarios, before progressing to field drills, according to the Cabinet.
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake was incorporated into the exercise, adding another layer of complexity. As the drill unfolded, participants responded to simulated Chinese drone activity targeting critical infrastructure and established emergency food distribution stations, simultaneously handling disaster relief efforts and emerging public unrest, Reuters reported.
Officials monitored the evolving scenario using multiple digital command platforms displayed at the response center. A US-developed tactical mapping and communications system provided real-time simulated enemy positioning, while Taiwan government platforms tracked emergency resources, including ambulance deployments, through interactive maps.
The exercise placed civil servants in unfamiliar roles. Staff from utilities departments and household registration offices, who are not typically part of emergency response operations, also took part.
An official who participated in the exercise, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters that while a real war cannot be replicated, scenario-based drills help participants understand the urgency and intensity of such conditions. The official added that without peacetime preparation, effective crisis response would not be possible.
The drill also examined responses to information warfare, including disinformation and sabotage scenarios. At one stage, television broadcasts were disrupted and replaced with content attributed to Beijing, while misinformation leaflets were reported circulating in public areas.
Nantou, Taiwan’s only inland county, was assigned a central role in the exercise as a support zone. Officials designated it as a reception area for evacuees from other regions and as a backup operational hub to sustain essential functions behind front-line areas.
Officials said the exercises were designed to reflect lessons from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Some scenarios included relocating hospital functions underground, as well as cyber operations conducted by trained specialists to simulate probing and pressure on government networks.
President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has expanded Taiwan’s defense readiness efforts, with city and county resilience drills conducted between April and August across 11 jurisdictions, including Changhua, Miaoli, Hsinchu, Chiayi, Taoyuan, Yunlin, Nantou, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, New Taipei, and Yilan. The Nantou drill forms part of this wider program, which aims to test the ability of both government and society to maintain essential functions during crises, according to LTN.
The drills focused on four areas: national defense, public livelihoods, disaster response, and democratic systems. Additional nationwide air-raid drills are scheduled for August, according to the Taipei City Government.
Minister without portfolio and deputy commander for the exercise, Chi Lien-cheng (季連成), said Taiwan’s main security challenge is its geographic proximity to China, which is “just across the Taiwan Strait.” He added that defense ultimately depends on self-reliance and noted that public awareness of this reality has been increasing.
However, he said that gaps in preparedness remain, and available resources could be insufficient in a real emergency. Chi added that continued drills are necessary to strengthen coordination between the central government, local governments, and civil society to identify operational issues and improve future responses.
Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), National Security Council deputy secretary-general and overseer of the resilience program, said Taiwan’s preparedness efforts are intended to signal that any potential conflict would be costly and uncertain. This uncertainty could lead potential adversaries to reconsider military action.
