3 weeks ago

Taiwan war games simulate Chinese assault, throttle mobile internet

Taiwan war games simulate Chinese assault, throttle mobile internet
Taiwan simulates repelling Chinese assault, to slow mobile internet in annual war games · theprint.in

Taiwan is an island near China.

China says Taiwan belongs to it, but Taiwan says only the island's people can decide their own future.

Every year, Taiwan holds practice drills called the Han Kuang exercise to get ready in case China ever attacks.

This time, soldiers practised stopping enemy troops from landing on the beach at Penghu, a group of islands in the Taiwan Strait.

They used big tanks, cannons and anti-aircraft guns in the dark before sunrise, and local reservists joined in.

Later that day, the government slowed down mobile internet in the city of Taichung as a test.

It wanted to see how people would communicate if internet became scarce during an emergency like a disaster or an attack.

Cash machines, traffic lights and ambulance calls still worked normally.

More practice will happen near the capital, Taipei, on Thursday.

Key facts

Exercise
Han Kuang annual war games (10-day)
Location
Penghu Islands and Taichung, Taiwan
Scenario
Repelling a simulated Chinese air landing assault
Equipment used
M60A3 tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft guns
New measure
First-time mobile internet throttling during civil defence drills
Exempt services
ATMs, traffic signals, ambulance calls, landlines and fixed internet
Civil defence drill
Air raid sirens sounded in Taichung at 2:30pm; streets cleared for 30 minutes
Coming next
Same exercise in northern Taiwan, including Taipei, on Thursday

Quotes

Taiwan government official

Representative of Taiwan’s government announcing the mobile internet throttling

“Later on Monday in central Taiwan, the government will deliberately slow mobile internet speeds for the first time during the civil defence part of the drills”
theprint.in
“Taiwan’s military simulated repelling a Chinese air landing assault on the strategically vital Penghu Islands”
theprint.in

Sources

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