Central and local government agencies as well as civil groups participated in the 3-hour exercise. - PHOTO: REUTERS
TAIPEI (Reuters): Taiwan's Presidential Office conducted its first ever tabletop exercise simulating a military escalation with China, several officials briefed on the matter said, at a time when the island is facing renewed Chinese military threats.
Dozens of central and local government agencies as well as civil groups participated in the 3-hour exercise on Thursday, 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 told Reuters.
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.
Responding to the war game held earlier in the day, President Lai Ching-te said Taiwan is "racing against time" to build up its capacity to counter disasters and boost "deterrence against an invading enemy."
"The peace and stability in the first island chain is being collectively challenged by authoritarian states," Lai was quoted as saying in a statement from his office, although he did not name any specific country.
The first island chain is a collection of archipelagos running roughly from Indonesia in an arc northeast to Japan, encompassing the South China Sea and East China Sea.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
China has staged two rounds of major exercises around Taiwan this year to pressure Taipei, one in May and one in October, dubbed "Joint Sword - 2024A" and B, respectively.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) - Reuters
