Taiwan’s military on Monday conducted a live-fire drill simulating the repulsion of a Chinese air landing assault on the strategically vital Penghu Islands, as it began a key phase of its annual 10-day Han Kuang war games. The exercise came alongside a first-time test of deliberately throttling mobile internet speeds as part of Taiwan’s civil-defence preparations.The drill took place before dawn on a beach in Penghu, where troops from Taiwan’s first theatre command opened fire using M60A3 tanks, artillery pieces and anti-aircraft guns. The forces were practising what Taiwan’s military described as a “multi-layered” defence against a simulated enemy attempting a rapid coastal landing.Penghu is closer to Taiwan’s main island than to China. Taiwanese strategists believe China could target the islands first and use them as a base for missile and drone attacks on Taiwan.The 10-day Han Kuang military exercise began last week and is testing Taiwan’s response to various scenarios involving a potential Chinese attack. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has repeatedly refused to rule out the use of force to bring the island under its control. The drills also include reservists, with Taiwan seeking to better integrate them into its operational planning.For the first time, the exercise also includes a test of mobile communications. Taiwan’s government plans to deliberately slow mobile internet speeds as part of the civil-defence drills, simulating a situation in which bandwidth becomes limited during an emergency such as a natural disaster or a Chinese invasion.The slowdown will not affect essential services such as ATMs, traffic signals and emergency ambulance calls. Landline and fixed internet services will also continue to operate normally.Taiwan’s government said the mobile internet test is intended to help prepare the public for possible disruptions during a major emergency. Authorities have also used mobile alerts and public messages to inform people about the exercise, so that a sudden slowdown in connectivity is not mistaken for an actual network failure or attack.
