Taiwan simulates repelling Chinese assault, to slow mobile internet in annual war games

Taiwan's military conducted a simulated defense against a Chinese air landing assault on the strategically important Penghu Islands as part of its annual Han Kuang war games. The exercise, which began last week and spans 10 days, rehearses scenarios for a potential Chinese invasion of the self-governing island, which Beijing considers its territory.

During the drills, troops on the Penghu Islands, located in the Taiwan Strait, employed M60A3 tanks, artillery, and anti-aircraft guns to establish a "multi-layered" defense against a simulated rapid coastal landing. Strategists view Penghu as a potential initial target for China, which could use the islands as a base for missile and drone attacks on Taiwan.

In a novel test of civil defense capabilities, Taiwan's government will deliberately slow mobile internet speeds across the island for the first time during the drills. This measure aims to assess how citizens would communicate if bandwidth becomes scarce during emergencies, such as natural disasters or a Chinese invasion. Key services like ATMs, traffic signals, and emergency calls will remain unaffected, as will landlines and fixed internet. The government has widely publicized these drills through text alerts and social media messages, with similar exercises planned for northern Taiwan, including the capital Taipei, later in the week.