Taiwan’s presidential office held “tabletop” exercises simulating military escalation by China

Taiwan’s presidential office held a “tabletop” exercise on Thursday simulating a military surge by China. The exercise was the first of its kind to involve government agencies beyond the armed forces, indicating Taiwan’s readiness to ensure preparedness against an increasingly assertive China, CNN reported.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-tey said Thursday evening that the simulation, involving central and local government units and citizen groups, was intended to test government responses in different scenarios if cross-Strait tensions escalated further.

“We conducted a tabletop exercise to verify each government agency’s level of preparedness in responding to extreme scenarios,” Lai said. “We believe that as long as governments and societies are prepared, we can adequately respond to a variety of threats, including natural disasters and authoritarian expansionism,” CNN reported.

China’s ruling Communist Party claims Taiwan as part of its territory even though it has never controlled it and insists on its eventual reunification, by force if necessary.

In recent months, Taiwan has seen increased Chinese military activities in the Taiwan Strait and the western Pacific, with more Chinese naval and coast guard vessels moving into territorial waters, and increased operations of Chinese aircraft around the island .

China also held two large-scale military exercises around Taiwan in 2024, one in response to Lai’s inauguration in May and the other in response to his/her National Day address in October.

As CNN reports, Lai Ching-te and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party have repeatedly rejected China’s territorial claims, and have stressed that Taiwan is “not subordinate” to China and that Taiwan’s future is solely up to China. Only its 23.5 million people can decide.

According to Taiwan’s Presidential Office, the tabletop exercise was conducted to test how various government agencies can “ensure the normal functioning of society” during times of crisis.

According to Taiwan’s presidential office, the exercise simulated two scenarios: one where China applies “high intensity” grey-zone warfare tactics, and another where Taiwan is “on the brink of conflict”. Grey-zone tactics are considered to be actions that fall just below actions of war.

Government agencies were not allowed to prepare notes in advance and had to react quickly to various contingencies, the President’s Office said, without mentioning details about the exact circumstances involved in the simulation.

While Taiwan’s military regularly conducts tabletop war games to test its defense preparedness, however, this was the first time the President’s Office has conducted a simulation that focuses on civilian responses to the threat of Chinese invasion.

Taiwan’s Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Pan Men-en and Secretary-General of the National Security Council Joseph Wu presided over the simulation. Taiwan’s Interior Minister Liu Shih-fang was among some of the officials leading the exercise, CNN reported.

Liu Shih-fang said that a major learning from the simulation was the need to strengthen Taiwan’s capacity to deal with disinformation during extraordinary times.

he/she said that although Taiwan’s Defense Ministry was well-positioned to respond to a variety of situations, many government agencies struggled to clarify lies during power or Internet outages, disrupting the flow of information to Taipei. This demonstrated the need for a backup mechanism to ensure safety.

Liu Shih-fang announced that officials plan to recruit and train 50,000 volunteers in Taiwan to help with disaster relief by the end of next year, which will include public sector workers.

Lin Fei-fan, deputy secretary general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, said the simulation was important to demonstrate the island’s democracy’s determination to build resilience throughout society. he/she further said, “It is important for us to conduct the tabletop exercise at this time to strengthen future preparedness and identify areas for improvement.”