Taiwan slows mobile internet in Chinese attack drill

Taiwan slowed mobile internet speeds for 30 minutes and ordered millions of people indoors on Thursday during an air raid drill simulating a Chinese attack.

The drill was part of Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang military exercise, which is aimed at preparing the island of 23 million people for a potential Chinese invasion.

Sirens sounded across Taipei at 2:30 pm, or 0630 GMT, sending people into underground carparks, subway stations, shopping malls and office buildings. Police directed traffic to pull over and moved people into shelters.

This year’s drill included a reduction in mobile internet speeds for the first time. The measure briefly limited access to video calls, live streams and food delivery apps during a scenario involving Chinese attacks on communications infrastructure.

Ben Lewis of the analysis website PLATracker told AFP before the drill that a total internet shutdown was unlikely, but that letting people experience disruption and testing civilian communications resilience were important.

Taiwan’s 10-day Han Kuang drills end Friday. During the exercise, the military staged combat scenarios for troops and reservists. On Wednesday, coast guard and navy ships practised escorting a vessel during a simulation of a Chinese blockade east of the island.

A hospital near Taipei also held an exercise in an underground carpark to show how a wartime medical facility could operate.