Taiwan’s Presidential Office holds war games for the first time to prepare for a potential China emergency

Taiwan’s Presidential Office recently held its inaugural tabletop exercise designed to simulate a military escalation with China, according to several officials familiar with the situation. This exercise comes at a time when the island is experiencing heightened military threats from China.

The three-hour exercise, conducted on Thursday, involved numerous central and local government agencies, as well as civil organizations, with participants requesting anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the event.

In recent years, China has intensified its military threats, including a significant buildup of naval forces this month and ongoing military activities near Taiwan, which Beijing considers its territory following Taipei’s refusal to acknowledge this claim. The war game, which took place within the Presidential Office in Taipei, was overseen by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu, as reported by officials who spoke to Reuters.

The exercise explored various scenarios, including China’s “high intensity” grey-zone warfare and situations where Taiwan is “on the verge of conflict,” aimed at assessing the readiness of government offices and civil society to respond, according to a security official familiar with the proceedings. This year, China has conducted two significant military exercises around Taiwan to exert pressure on Taipei, one in May and another in October, referred to as “Joint Sword – 2024A” and B, respectively.