Upcoming war games to assess reactions of allies: sources

ROC Central News Agency

2018/08/26 19:58:10

Taipei, Aug. 26 (CNA) Computerized war games will be held this week to test Taiwan's readiness to handle a major crisis, such as an attack on its critical infrastructure, involving simulated possible reactions to a range of scenarios by the country's allies, sources said Sunday.

The exercises are intended to rehearse the vertical and horizontal coordination of government agencies in a scenario where China attacks critical infrastructure, triggers another form of military conflict or precipitates diplomatic problems for Taiwan, sources said.

Sources said that the war games will be staged by the National Security Council against the backdrop of recent changes in cross-strait relations.

In a departure from previous practice, the war games will for the first time include the participation of lawmakers and academic specialists in strategic planning, with the strategists playing the role of Taiwan's allies, to evaluate how nations and their leaders could react in different scenarios, sources said.

The government has not yet finalized when the war games will take place and in what form because the army is currently involved in rescue and cleanup operations in the aftermath of the extensive flooding in southern Taiwan, sources said.

Ministry of National Defense spokesman Chen Chung-ji (陳中吉) declined to comment on details of the plan, while Presidential Office spokesperson Sidney Lin (林鶴明) said the government will not make public information on the exercises because of their sensitive nature.

(By Yu Kai-hsiang, Lu Hsin-hui and Shih Hsiu-chuan)
Enditem/AW